A first: Dadu Majra residents to accompany councillors to Goa
Sandeep Rana
Chandigarh, June 15
In a first, the municipal corporation has decided to take around half a dozen Dadu Majra residents to Goa as part of the councillors’ tour slated from June 26 to 30 to study the waste processing plant there.
Congress game, AAP undecided
- Congress councillors will be part of the proposed Goa study tour, said city unit president HS Lucky on Thursday. He said the issue was linked to city’s future and the party was keen on getting first-hand knowledge about the Goa facility.
- AAP, which is opposed to the new plant’s location, remains undecided. “We will hold a meeting of all councillors to take a final call,” said Pardeep Chhabra, senior AAP leader. Ruling BJP councillors are already in favour of the facility.
This comes amid demand from various quarters to show the working of the Goa plant to those affected by the Dadu Majra waste dumping ground. It was felt more than the councillors, area residents who had been bearing the brunt of the dump and in whose neighbourhood a new plant is going to come up, should visit the facility to know the process involved.
“We have decided to take along some Dadu Majra residents along on the study tour. It will enable them to know the working of the plant. It will allow a better understanding of the process involved and help mitigate their problems to some extent. We believe in transparency and want to take every one along,” said Mayor Anup Gupta, adding five to eight residents were expected to be part of the tour.
Will ensure transparency
We have decided to take along some Dadu Majra residents to Goa. It will help them know about the working of the plant. We believe in transparency and want to take every one along.
Anup Gupta, Mayor
Dyal Krishan, chairman, Dumping Ground Joint Action Committee, said: “The MC should ensure only those having a basic understanding of a waste plant be made part of the tour. They should assess the distance of the Goa plant from the nearest residential area, besides the amount of waste processed and smell generated.”
Residents living in the vicinity of the Dadu Majra plant have been complaining of skin diseases, TB, cancer and other ailments. They say while they were promised a public park or a sports facility at the dumping site, the MC had decided to set up a new processing plant after clearing the dump in the first phase. The existing processing facility is located across the road in Sector 25.
The location was finalised after a showdown at the last MC House meeting. Even UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit had given his assent to the new facility, saying the location was selected as per city’s master plan and that there was no other similar chunk of land elsewhere.
Two days ago, Mahila Congress president Deepa Dubey had written to Purohit, saying: “Instead of councillors, area residents who suffer from ailments caused by garbage at the dumping ground and educated individuals should be shown the Goa plant.”
