The Hindu              23.12.2013

Set up waste processing units in all Assembly segments: judge

Karnataka High Court judge N. Kumar said that the Bruhat
Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) would be directed to set up garbage
processing units in all the 28 Assembly constituencies.

He
was speaking to presspersons here on Sunday after inspecting the waste
segregation units in Kuvempunagar ward, Mavallipura landfill and the
Terra Firma waste processing plant at Koligere in Doddaballapur.

Mr.
Kumar was accompanied by High Court judge B.V. Nagarathna and BBMP
Commissioner M. Lakshminarayana besides officials concerned.

The
visit was in connection with a case they are hearing in the High Court
about solid waste management in the city. The inspection was aimed at
taking stock of the measures that the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike
has taken to ensure that garbage collection and its management in the
city is done in a systematic manner. In fact, the judges had visited dry
waste collection units in the city a few months ago.

Mr.
Kumar told presspersons that it would be better if garbage processing
units are set up in each of the 28 Assembly constituencies in the city.

Underlining
the need to segregate waste at source, he said that citizens should
cooperate with the civic authorities and ensure that they segregate dry
and wet waste before handing it over to the pourakarmikas who come to
collect it.

“If the contractors do not supervise the
segregation process as required, their contract licence will be
cancelled. The citizens must also cooperate and segregate the waste at
source,” he said.

According to him, 80 per cent of
the waste generated in the city can be processed and used for production
of gas and electricity, and the remaining solid waste could be used to
make asphalt.

When the inspecting team members
reached Mavallipura Dinne, residents shared their woes with them.
Residents told them that as waste is dumped there, all water sources
have been polluted forcing them to buy drinking water paying Rs. 30 for
20-litre can. Dumping of waste in Mavallipura has posed serious health
hazards to locals and animals, they said adding that the judges should
direct the BBMP to clear accumulated waste in Mavallipura Dinne on
priority.

Residents of Vidyaranyapura and Yelahanka,
who were at the Kuvempunagar segregation unit, blamed the contractors
for improper segregation of waste. They attributed this to lack of
manpower and equipment. “Ever since the new contractor took over in
December last year, manpower of over 100 workers has come down to 53,”
said R. Premchand, president of Kalathur Layout Residents’ Welfare
Association.

Mr. Lakshminarayana said that they would
implement the recommendations made by the judges with regard to solid
waste management in the city. He said processing units would be set up
soon and pointed out that these units would not only help the BBMP cut
down on costs but would also address the garbage issue at the local
level.