Even as Bhubaneswar has been felicitated for being one of the cleanest in the country, the ground realities tell a completely different story.
The Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) has served a showcause notice to the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) asking it to explain why garbage was not being shifted from the Temporary Transfer Station (TTS) to the designated dumping site at Bhuasuni on city outskirts.
The pollution watchdog has also sought to know why waste was being strewn in an open place at Bhuasuni instead of creating provisions for landfilling.
The OSPCB has the power to issue showcause notices to the civic body as it provides authorization for dumping and processing of the municipal solid waste. In our authorization, we have mentioned that waste should be shifted to from the TTS immediately to the designated site.
Hadibandhu Panigrahi, Regional Officer, OSPCB
The OSPCB officials, city police commissioner Y B Khurania, BMC commissioner Krishan Kumar, mayor A N Jena and Bhubaneswar MP Prasanna Patasani meet to discuss the matter earlier this week. “The BMC has sought three week time to shift the garbage from TTS and create a landfill facility at Bhuasuni,” Panigrahi added.
The BMC has been facing an uphill task in dumping waste at Bhuasuni since the villagers of Daruthenga, who live near the spot, objected to the act, fearing it will lead to pollution in the area.
The standoff between the BMC and the villagers has led to piling up of around 3,000 metric tonne of garbage at the TTS. Jena said the villagers have agreed to allow dumping of waste at Bhuasuni from Tuesday. A committee has been constituted to monitor waste disposal and ensure landfilling.
Earlier in February, the villagers had locked up the dumping yard in protest demanding construction of a solid waste treatment plant. The protest was withdrawn after intervention of BMC authorities and Additional District Magistrate (ADM), assuring start of the plant after soil test.
In absence of a proper dumping yard and waste treatment facilities in Bhubaneswar, the garbage dumped by the BMC near habitations causes a lot of problem like environment hazards and risks the hygiene of the locals.
The stand-off between the villagers and the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has led to piling up of around 2,000 metric tonne of garbage at the temporary transfer station (TTS) near Sainik School here.
Only last week, the villagers of Daruthenga allegedly manhandled city health officer Chandrika Prasad Das while he was trying to convince them to allow dumping of municipal solid waste at the designated site at Bhuasuni.
Official sources said the government allotted 62 acres at Bhuasuni in 2005 to the BMC for dumping of the waste. An additional 12 acres were allotted last year to set up the waste processing plant. But the plan is yet to materialize. Recently, BMC sought financial help or Rs. 1.4 Crore from the state government to set up a plastic processing plant.
The proposed plat is said to generate over Rs 12 crore annually by processing and utilising plastic waste.
Courtesy: The Times of India
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