The Hindu       05.04.2017  

Sanitary waste collection up, but Mahadevapura lags

Official says agency not finalised for the zone during the pilot phase

Two months after the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)
started collecting sanitary waste separately, approximately 17 tonnes of
it are being collected across all the zones in the city daily. But this
just a fraction of what the citizens generate, and the scope of
collection varies widely: while south, R.R. Nagar and Yelahanka zones
contribute to a major chunk, the process has not even begun in
Mahadevapura.

“We have not yet finalised an agency for
Mahadevapura zone as no one was ready to take it up during the ongoing
pilot phase,” said Hemalatha, executive engineer, Solid Waste
Management. She said tenders for sanitary waste processing from all the
zones would be finalised by the end of April.

N.S. Ramakanth,
member of the Solid Waste Management Round Table, said the problem lay
in the delay in allocation of funds. “There was no specific allocation
in the last budget for sanitary waste management. Other than one agency,
the others have been asking for full down payment,” said Mr. Ramakanth.

Waste
management agencies have also mandated that sanitary waste be brought
to the incineration plants in non-chlorinated yellow bags, an additional
cost the BBMP has to bear. “Once this year’s budgetary allocation
comes, processing of sanitary waste will get a boost,” Mr. Ramakanth
said. An amount of Rs. 898.94 crore has been allotted for garbage
disposal and SWM in the BBMP’s 2017-18 budget.

According to the official, 80 to 90 tonnes of sanitary waste is generated across Bengaluru daily.

In
February, an average of 9.57 tonnes of sanitary waste was collected
daily, and this increased to 17 tonnes in March. South zone led the way
with a maximum collection of 15.15 tonnes of sanitary waste out of
1201.87 tonnes of waste overall in March. However, Mr. Ramakanth says,
the numbers are being driven by the likes of Yelahanka ward and KSR
Layout where a robust system of segregation is already in place.

Sharing responsibility

The
BBMP is also exploring the option of getting companies to pick the tab
on waste from their products under Extended Product Responsibility. “The
product is made by companies and used by residents. It is unfair to put
the entire responsibility of managing product waste on civic agencies,”
said Ms. Hemalatha. “Such practices have been implemented in other
countries with a fair degree of success.”