The Hindu 20.11.2009
Living amid garbage for decades
Rajesh B. Nair
| 500 tonnes of garbage dumped on open land near Karuvadikuppam |
Problem is because of delay in implementing solid waste management rules
“Land identified is ideal for establishing dumping yard as it is away from human habitation”
PUDUCHERRY: For decades, residents of Karuvadikuppam are bearing the brunt of the “government’s indifference” in not developing sites identified for dumping solid waste collected from areas in Puducherry and Oulgaret Municipality limits. Around 500 tonnes of garbage, including general waste generated in hospitals, markets and residential areas is being dumped in an open land near Karuvadikuppam.
Residents complain that they are forced to live in an unhygienic condition for the last 30 years. “When the situation worsened during the recent rain, we were compelled to block trucks coming to the yard. The entire area was stinking. Now, the government is dumping garbage after declaring Section 144 of Cr.P.C.,” * Ramanan, a resident said.
A visit to the area revealed that even during day time, mosquito menace was high. “The problem is worse during evening. We light at least two mosquito coils every night to sleep. Excessive use of such repellents has made several people sick,” a woman resident said, pointing at rashes all over the body of her child.
Almost all residents have some kind of skin allergy, she said. It is routine for people to fall sick, especially running temperature, she added.The main cause of the problem is the delay in implementing the solid waste management rules in the two municipalities. A total of 37 acres of land in the north of Mettupalayam Industrial Estate was identified, of which 23 acres was allotted for a truck terminal and 15 acres for development as Solid Waste Landfill. After an environment impact study found the place suitable, it was acquired and handed over to Oulgaret Municipality in the year 2000. The expenditure incurred towards land acquisition was Rs 8.12 crore.
Later, the proposal to establish the dumping yard was abandoned. After a few years, a part of the land was provided to the Local Administration Department to establish a truck terminal, which though inaugurated two years ago, remains unused till now.
A retired government official told The Hindu that the land was an ideal location for constructing a dumping yard as it was away from human habitation.
After the Mettupalyam project was abandoned, 22 acres of land was acquired in Kurumbapet four years ago for dumping waste under Integrated Solid Waste Management Project.
As per the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000 notified by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, all State governments should set up waste processing and disposal facilities by December 31, 2003.
Officials in the Local Administration Department said the Kurumbapet yard would become functional in the beginning of next year. The Union government had sanctioned Rs 49.66 crore under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission for carrying out the Integrated Solid Waste Management Project, he added.
