‘Our Target is 100% Collection of Segregated Waste Only-Violators Will be Fined’ – MCC Mayor
- ‘Our Target is 100% Collection of Segregated Waste Only-Violators Will be Fined’ – Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) Mayor Diwakar Pandeshwar, during a meeting of MCC Corporators and Officials held in the presence of MCC Commissioner Akshy Kumar. If segregation has been implemented by MCC, then why are still seeing waste trucks filled with plastic garbage bags??(See Pics in the report)
Mangaluru: In the wake of a recent high court direction, the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) prepares an action plan to implement waste segregation mandatory in all the 60 wards of the city. During a meeting with Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) Corporators and Officials in the presence of MCC Commissioner Akshy Kumar on Tuesday 20 October at MCC Mangala Auditorium, Mayor Diwakar Pandeshwar said, “We will use the services of its multi-purpose workers and valve men to create awareness on segregating waste at source. I seek the cooperation of councillors to create awareness among people on segregation, which is lacking at the moment among the citizens here. We will form a separate cell comprising corporators from the ruling party as well as the opposition, along with officials, to effectively implement the segregation of wet and dry waste, a need of the hour to implement the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules 2016. We need to achieve a 100% target in the door to door waste collection in the city”
“Similarly, we also need to ensure that only segregated waste reaches the dump yard. All large-scale waste generators should set up waste management units on their premises. Meanwhile, all residents should segregate waste at source. The waste collection vehicles in the city will collect wet waste on all days (except Fridays) and dry waste will be collected only on Fridays. Separate vehicles will be sent to collect both dry and wet waste on all days from fishing ports, restaurants and other commercial premises,” added Mayor.
Also speaking, MCC Commissioner Akshy Sridhar said, “The Solid Waste Management (SWM) will be easier only if citizens join hands with the city corporation by segregating waste at source. He said all the citizens have a responsibility to segregate the waste at source before handing it over to the waste collectors. Environmental engineer of the corporation Madhu Manohar said the Karnataka High Court has considered the issue of solid waste management in the city very seriously while hearing a writ petition filed by Karnataka Legal Services Authority. The authority had filed a petition in connection with the garbage sliding tragedy at the landfill site of MCC that destroyed 27 houses and agricultural land in August 2019. The High Court has directed the city corporation to implement the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 effectively. Accordingly, waste generators and the city corporation have their own responsibilities especially with regard to the segregation of waste, and should abide by the law”.
Corporator Praveenchandra Alva, speaking on behalf of the opposition corporators, asked QR code system to be implemented in all the wards and suggested that Swachhata inspectors have to conduct door to door visits to create awareness about the sorting of waste. In reply, commissioner Akshy said success could be obtained if citizens join hands with MCC by segregating the waste at source, but as of now, we are still seeing citizens not following our requests. A few councillors complained that Antony Waste Handling Cell Pvt Ltd which collects and transports solid waste is not collecting waste daily in some wards, especially those on the outskirts of the City. They are collected in such wards once in three days, but as per the contract, they have to collect waste daily.
In response, Engineer Madhu Manohar said, “The Company has informed us that they are facing problems finding spare parts for some of their vehicles which have problems. The company has 84 vehicles for waste collection, of which 8 are non-functioning. Hence, the delay in collecting waste in some areas. But the company has promised to rectify the issue soon”. Meantime, the Mayor said that if some of their vehicles are broken, they need to make arrangements from outsource. The lack of availability of spare parts cannot be an excuse for stopping daily collection of waste, added Mayor.
Okay, well said by the MCC Mayor, Commissioner, Engineer Madhu and Councillors, but looking at the present situation as to how the waste is still collected and transported, goes back to the old ways. This is like an adage ‘Build a Hut and then Buy a Cow’. MCC officials are making new laws sitting in the comfort of their Air Conditioned offices will not serve any purpose, since the transporter is continuing on his old methods. In the end, nothing changes. And we have seen it in the past, and are seeing now and future too. Mayors and commissioners come to make a few changes, only implement them and not enforce them, and nothing is changed. The segregation issue has been dealt with in the last few years, and still, we are not seeing any changes. Oh well!
