While making his submissions before the High Court in a bunch of
petitions filed against the inefficient handling of the solid waste in
the city BBMP Commissioner H Siddaiah said that the BBMP is in the
process of setting up dry waste collection centres in 95 places and 44
of them are already set up.

All the dry waste collection centres
would be set up by June 30 and waste segregation at source can be made
mandatory in all the 198 wards of the city by July 1. Different service
providers have come forward to collect and dispose of around 1,000
tonnes of dry waste everyday. Waste segregation can be implemented in 44
wards immediately.

Siddaiah also submitted that the bulk generators have agreed to reduce 1,500

metric
tonnes of garbage by disposing of the waste on their own and the hotel
owners association has already entered into an agreement with a private
service provider to dispose 700 tonnes of hotel waste.

The BBMP has agreed to give land at two places to the service providers.

Karnataka
Compost Development Corporation has agreed to collect 1,200 tonnes of
wet waste in another six months and is developing facilities to treat
700 tonnes of waste in Kudulu and 500 tonnes at Chikkanagamangala with
the BBMP’s assistance.

As Rs 81 crore would be required to set up
bio mining facility a proposal has been placed before the government
with the permission of the council.

While replying to a query on
the BBMP paying money to RAMKI, a private solid and medical waste
management firm, despite not treating the waste, Siddaiah said, “We have
stopped sending waste to RAMKI as they were not treating waste. But,
the waste for which the BBMP has paid the money is already dumped in
their facility. As they have proposed to start treating the waste by
installing advanced machines very soon we have not initiated any action
against them.”

Extension for Siddaiah Sought

All the
petitioners wanted Siddaiah’s term to be extended by six month to ensure
the issue is dealt with in an appropriate manner and settled once for
all.

Some of the petitioners even maintained that the BBMP could not have addressed the issue in this manner without Siddaiah.