The Times of India        29.09.2014  

MCG messes up malba disposal plan

GURGAON: Though the MCG has engaged itself in a major cleanliness drive across the city, it is paying little attention to construction and demolition (C&D) waste that is increasingly enveloping the city with each passing day.

It has been almost a year since the MCG announced having identified four sites where residents can dump malba (C&D waste). These sites, at villages Choma, Gadhauli Kalan, Mullahera and Kherki Majra, are inaccessible, and many seem to be unaware about them. Field experts, however, said the sites identified by the MCG were not suitable for throwing C&D waste.

The MCG has not issued any official letter or notified any of its contractors about the dumping of C&D waste at these four designated sites. On paper, meanwhile, the MCG has said that anybody found dumping C&D waste in places apart from the four mentioned, will be penalized.

"The entire city is turning into a huge malba dumping ground. In fact, A couple of days ago I recorded a truck offloading malba in Aravali zone off the Gurgaon-Faridabad road. I showed it to the MCG commissioner who promised to place security guards in that area to prevent such incidents in the future. On Saturday, however, I saw a truck doing the same thing on the same road and I could not see a single guard anywhere in the vicinity," Ruchika Sethi, a resident, said.

"In the given circumstances I am doing my best," MCG commissioner Vikas Yadav said, adding he would take stock of the situation only next week.

The Hindu      26.09.2014 

Govt. launches drive to clean up the Capital

People littering will be fined, vehicles wrongly parked will be impounded and strict action against defacement of property by unauthorised hoardings will be part of the special cleanliness drive that will kick off on Thursday in the Capital.

Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung on Tuesday also directed the civic bodies to augment their manpower, vehicles and other resources for this drive and all officers have been asked to conduct continuous field visits. The Municipal Corporations will also identify critical dhalaos and open garbage dumping sites for the special clean-up schedule.

While citizens will be involved, so will RWAs, Traders’ Associations, market associations, industrial associations, youth, school children in the cleanliness and sanitation drive. “Citizens should come forward and participate wholeheartedly in helping us keep the city clean” said Mr. Jung.

The drive will also cover industrial areas and it is estimated that more than 600 trucks of malba and garbage lying there will be removed during this period that will stretch over a fortnight. The DDA will make special efforts to clear garbage and malba from its vacant plots, which are over 1,000 such spots. There will be special emphasise on repair and renovation of toilets, providing sewer and water connection and construction of new toilets, especially for women, the government said a statement.

Further, large bus depots, sanitation facilities and hospital premises will all be cleaned during this drive. “Crowded bazaars, weekly markets, daily markets, parking spaces, public toilets were flagged as special areas of focus,” added the statement.