The Times of India        06.01.2011

NEW DELHI: If you are not happy with the sanitation conditions in your area, all you have to do now is log on to the civic body's new Facebook page to lodge a complaint and attach a picture to show the exact condition of the spot. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), on Wednesday, launched its Facebook page, which will look into all complaints, suggestions regarding cleanliness and garbage removal.

"At the 2,078 garbage sites across the city, MCD will place boards with details like zero garbage time, unique bin number and complaint number. On the Facebook page, critical information such as the service standards and the area-wise details of the 12 MCD zones have already been posted under the tabs 'services' and 'know your area','' said additional commissioner Anshu Prakash. In fact, the numbers of all supervisory staff related to the sanitation department will also be accessible to the public so that they can call up the official concerned personally and lodge a complaint.

In order to monitor the page, the MCD is setting up a control room at its Ambedkar Stadium office where one assistant engineer and a junior engineer will be on duty to ensure all complaints are looked into. If the experiment is successful, it may later include more areas like public health, roads, and unauthorized construction in the page.

According to MCD, this initiative will ensure public scrutiny of their working at all times. "The problems and suggestions highlighted by citizens will receive prompt attention. We have no control over what anyone is writing. So, if a person makes a complaint, and it is not attended to, it will reflect on our functioning immediately. We hope to live up to the expectations of the public through this initiative and ensure a clean Delhi,'' MCD commissioner K S Mehra said. MCD will take action on the complaint and revert back to the complainant on Facebook itself.

Initiating the MCD account by signing as a member on the Facebook page, Delhi mayor Prithvi Raj Sawhney appealed to the citizens to join hands with the civic body to monitor prompt and effective lifting of garbage. "I hope that with the cooperation of citizens and prompt action by MCD, the city will become cleaner," he said.

Around 400 people have already signed up as members of the account. "Open space at G Block Hari Nagar Jail road (opposite Om Sweets) is being used as dumping ground. The matter was conveyed to the MCD earlier too, but no action has been taken so far," said a post.

The corporation claimed it has become the first civic body in India to use interactive medium of Facebook for prompt and effective monitoring of garbage lifting.

The Hindu       03.01.2011

Brahmapuram: accumulated waste to be cleared before June

Processing could not be carried out for a year and a half

The waste accumulated at the Brahmapuram solid waste treatment plant will be cleared before the onset of monsoon in June, according to authorities.

Inclement weather has affected the processing as the waste accumulated inside the plant is absorbing moisture, and the water seeping into the floor through the cracks, said Babu Ambat, Executive Director of the Centre for Environment and Development (CED), which has been running the plant for the Kochi corporation.

The civic authorities had brought in the agency for running the plant some time back when the installed machines developed technical snag. The floor where the machinery was installed had sunk. The plant site had subsequently become a waste dumping yard as the machines could not be operated. Huge quantity of waste has been accumulated at the plant site as the processing could not be carried out for nearly a year and a half, during the term of the previous corporation council.

According to Dr. Ambat, plans were afoot to dry the waste out in open.

The increased moisture in the waste was causing some glitches in processing. The situation can be avoided if the waste is dried in the yard, he said.

The increased moisture and the resultant snags were preventing the capacity utilisation of the plant. Though the plant can now be operated nonstop for around 20 hours, it can be effectively run for around 15 hours only. Much time is lost in de-clogging the machines, he said.

Capacity

The plant has an installed capacity to process 250 tonnes of waste a day. Currently, around 60 tonnes is processed and this can be gradually stepped up to the range of 150 tonnes to 200 tonnes a day.

If weather permits, the backlog would be cleared within four months, he said.

The new civic regime has evinced interest in taking forward the functioning of the plant. The agency hopes to relieve itself from the job of running the plant within two years. The civic administration has been apprised of the ground situation, he said.

The segregated collection of waste was better in Kochi when compared to Thiruvananthapuram. The situation needs to be improved in some areas and the issue has been brought to the notice of the civic administration, he said.

The agency is waiting for the completion of the road works for clearing the non-degradable refuse from the plant site.

Once the road project is completed, these materials can be transported to the sanitary landfill site, he said.