Sanitation
in Rourkela city, which has a population of around six lakh, has gone
for a toss as the plant continues to be delayed. Heaps of garbage are
unscientifically dumped in low-lying areas across the city.

In
2007, Sundargarh district administration had asked the Rourkela
Municipality for setting up a domestic waste treatment plant at a cost
of ` five crore sanctioned under the 12th Finance Commission. Till date,
the administration has not been able to find a suitable place for the
project.

After facing opposition from the locals at Balughat, the
administration unsuccessfully tried to earmark land in adjoining Bisra
and Lathikata blocks for the purpose.  Municipality sources said above
60,000 households spread over the municipality limits daily generate
between 115 tonnes and 120 tonnes of garbage while the contribution of
the captive township of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) is another 70 tonnes.
In a joint arrangement in 2010, the municipality and RSP decided to set
up a treatment plant within a year and RSP was to arrange 35 acres of
land at Tarkera. The civic body had then offered ` two crore in the
first phase. However, things went awry for unknown reasons.

Municipality
Vice-Chairman RN Mishra admitted that the proposal has been put on the
back burner. The civic body has reportedly utilised a major portion of
the said fund towards outsourcing the sanitary services.

Having
unscientifically dumped garbage in low-lying areas of Balughat, Civil
Township, near the Rourkela Government College, STI, Power House Road
and Koel Nagar, the municipality has now settled for the vacant space
between the airstrip and BPUT campus. The RSP too has been dumping
wastes there. Regional Officer of Odisha State Pollution Control Board
Niranjan Mallick said last year, both RSP and the municipality were
slapped with show cause notices. While the RSP is carrying out soil
topping, municipality is yet to oblige, he added.