DC asks MC to shift solid waste plant

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 11

Deputy Commissioner Praneet has written a letter to the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Bathinda (MCB) and asked him about the shifting of the solid waste management plant away from the city.

In 2015, the construction work of the plant had been completed at a cost of Rs 28 crore on 30 acres, where the city had been dumping garbage for the past three decades.

Since then residents of 20 colonies have been up in arms against the solid waste treatment plant as the stench emanating from the plant was unbearable and it posed a health hazard to residents living in the nearby localities.

Mati Dass Nagar, Nachattar Nagar, Jogi Nagar, Harbans Nagar, House Fed Colony, Guru ki Nagari, Deep Nagar, Silver Colony and ITI among other areas are the most affected from the plant.

During Assembly elections, they had threatened to boycott SAD, after which Congress leader Manpreet Singh Badal had announced to shift it away from the city on coming to power.

However, nothing has been done to shift the plant. Residents had started protest last month and had threatened the Congress to face dire consequences of not fulfilling its promises.

Jeet Singh Joshi, convener of the garbage plant hatao morcha committee, said the Deputy Commissioner had written a letter to the MCB Commissioner asking him about shifting of the solid waste plant and a copy of the same has been sent to the garbage plant morcha committee as well.

He stated that they welcome the initiation of the process of shifting the plant by the government official.

He said a few months ago they had met the DC and had given him the demand letter over shifting of the plant from here.

Joshi alleged that the plant had come up on misleading reports submitted by officials by giving wrong facts as it had been constructed near a water distributary and Raghunath temple, and the Radhe Krishna temple in Harbans Nagar is also located close to it. Even a gurdwara in Mati Dass Nagar is located near the plant.

The project was the state’s first municipal solid waste treatment plant, which was constructed after a long legal battle in the National Green Tribunal (NGT).