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Solid Waste Management

A2Z starts work early after RMC warnings

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The Times of India                    12.04.2013

A2Z starts work early after RMC warnings

RANCHI: The workers of the A2Z Waste Management Company were seen starting work from as early as 7 am on Thursday morning, unlike other days when their duty hours would begin from 9 am.

For the past few days, the Ranchi Municipal Corporation seemed dissatisfied with the work of A2Z Company and had threatened the company to take severe action against it if it did not improve its quality of work.

The result of the warning was clearly visible in the city on Thursday when the A2Z workers were not just collecting garbage, but were also found cleaning drains at many places.

Health officer of RMC Rajan Singh said, "We noticed that the work of A2Z Company was not satisfactory and we were also receiving several complaints from the public. We warned the company to mend their ways. They have promised that they will make the city clean soon."

With several festivals like Sarhul and Ram Navami approaching, both involving huge processions and with the expected visit of President Pranab Mukherjee by the end of this month, the A2Z Company is left with very less time to make the city spick and span.

Vijay Pandey, national HR and operational head of A2Z, said, "We have brought several changes in the work process. Now the small carts will start work at 7 am instead of 9 am. Also, 14 more tractors will be added for night service to clean garbage bins throughout the city."

As the A2Z workers started full-fledged work, traffic at many places was disrupted but people did not seem to have a problem with it.

"I was on my way to work at 11 am when I noticed that the A2Z workers were cleaning the drain and piling all the garbage on the road. For a change, I did not get irritated as the drain was jammed for several days now and cleaning it was more important than clearing the traffic for a day," said Rajesh Rai, a businessman.
Last Updated on Friday, 12 April 2013 11:11
 

Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation’s clean project hits Ramky roadblock

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The Times of India                  10.04.2013

Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation’s clean project hits Ramky roadblock

VISAKHAPATNAM: Vizagites awaiting a cleaner and greener city by Ugadi this year, may now have to wait longer to see their dreams come true. For the much-hyped Clean and Green Visakha (CGV) solid waste management project of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), which was to be launched officially from April 11, has run into a roadblock.

According to GVMC sources, the agreement inked by the state government with Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd (REEL) in the third quarter of 2011-12 to improve sanitary conditions of both Vizag and Hyderabad, is posing to be the main hurdle to the rollout of the CGV programme.

"We made all the arrangements to launch the CGV project and were busy mobilizing the required Rs 4 crore funds to successfully run the 'dustbin free' programme in the city from Ugadi onwards, but unfortunately it has been put on hold due to REEL's tie-up with the state government for overall solid waste management," a senior GVMC officer in the medical and health department revealed.

As per the MoU with the company, the collection of waste and its recycling was to be done by REEL, with the civic bodies of Hyderabad and Vizag playing no role except paying REEL for cleaning the city.

But GVMC was forced to go back on the MoU after facing stiff resistance from its 5000-odd sanitary workers, who have raised a stink over the involvement of REEL in the project as they fear they would lose their jobs. This had forced GVMC to devise its own solid waste management plan under the CGV project.

While admitting that the MoU with REEL was delaying the CGV, GVMC commissioner MV Satyanarayana said that the civic body had recently written a letter to the state government seeking an assurance that REEL would not interfere in GVMC's project. "The letter was written few days ago. We are yet to receive a reply from the government. We hope that the government will positively respond to our pleas and we can start the CGV soon after receiving the green signal. If all goes well, the programme is likely to be launched in May," Satyanarayana said.

Meanwhile, the leaders of GVMC's sanitary workers union said they would stall the CGV project even if the REEL issue was sorted out. The union has been opposing the CGV project as well as REEL's intervention tooth and nail from the very beginning.

The honorary president of GVMC Employees and Workers Union, M Ananda Rao, said that nearly 5,000 sanitary staff would face health problems if they were to segregate the waste by hand as part of the CGV project. "We welcome the programme if everything is completely mechanized. If not, we are ready to go on an indefinite strike if the CGV is launched against the sanitary workers' wishes," Rao said.

However, the GVMC chief said that the programme would benefit all stakeholders, right from residents to sanitary workers thanks to the scientific disposal of the city's waste under CGV. "The workers will not face any health problems. On the contrary, they will be given incentives. CGV is a 100 per cent clean and green project," Satyanarayana added.

The GVMC CGV programme intends to cover all 72 wards in the city that generates about 1000 tonnes of garbage a day. GVMC spends Rs 10 crore annually on garbage collection and disposal with the help of nearly 5,000 sanitary workers and 425 vehicles are used to transport the waste to a dump yard at Kapuluppada on the city outskirts.

If the CGV project gets implemented, the waste will be segregated into wet and dry garbage at the doorstep of the residents itself, with each household being given two different coloured bins. A total of 1,340 routes have been identified by GVMC for collecting the waste as part of the CGV.

Wait gets longer

GVMC's 'garbage segregation at doorstep' plan likely to be delayed

Ramky's tie-up with govt as well as 5000 GVMC workers' opposition stymies green project

Workers' voice concern over health risk due to manual segregation of garbage

GVMC promises a complete mechanized system of segregation, also seeks assurance from govt that Ramky would not interfere in the project
Last Updated on Wednesday, 10 April 2013 11:19
 

Corporation councillors spar over size of agreement

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The New Indian Express                     10.04.2013

Corporation councillors spar over size of agreement

The confusion regarding the volume of the agreement thus initiated arguments between the ruling and opposition fronts | EPS
The confusion regarding the volume of the agreement thus initiated arguments between the ruling and opposition fronts | EPS

A debate over the ‘voluminous’ concession agreement for the integrated municipal solid waste-to-energy plant at Chalai took centre stage in the Corporation Council meeting held here on Tuesday.

 UDF councillor Mujeeb Rahman argued referring to an RTI query that the agreement counted only 128 pages which, in the previous council meeting, Mayor K Chandrika had said was a document that ran into nearly a thousand pages.

The Mayor, in the previous meeting, had explained that the civic body was awaiting legal opinion over the ‘copious’ agreement. The confusion regarding the volume of the agreement thus initiated arguments between the ruling and opposition fronts.

Mujeeb Rahman also demanded that the Mayor should apologise for the delayed take-off of the Chalai plant, expected to process 35 tonnes of garbage a day and generate 3.2 megawatts of electricity from it.

As the debate continued in high pitch, the main agenda regarding the spillover projects in the People’s Plan programme of the 2012-13 fiscal and the approval of the new projects in the 2013-14 financial year could not be discussed, even though some councillors tried in vain to bring attention to it. The Mayor’s statement that the matter regarding signing the agreement would be placed in the next council meeting could not pacify the opposition, which was adamant to make the Mayor mention the exact number of pages in the agreement. Following which, the Mayor left her seat and Deputy Mayor G Happykumar controlled the proceedings. After which, the councillors presented the adjournment motions.

Road Grant

In an adjournment motion moved by Works Standing Committee chairman V S Padmakumar, the council demanded that the State Government should increase the allocation for the City Corporation in the 2013-14 state budget for the road maintenance grant from the present Rs 18,09,81,000. Compared to the fund allocated to Kochi Corporation (Rs 27,01,95,000), there is a difference of Rs 8.92 crore. Thiruvananthapuram Corporation has more than double the area that of the Kochi Corporation and hence he demanded that the amount allocated will not suffice for the maintenance of the roads here.

 


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