Haryana's waste management plan has collapsed: Selja

Congress general secretary and Sirsa MP Kumari Selja has said the waste management plan in Haryana has completely collapsed.

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"Existing waste management plants are on the verge of closure, with garbage piles forming at the sites. Now, the BJP government is once again adding insult to injury by announcing electricity production from waste. Whether it's the BJP-led state or the Central Government, they excel at misleading the public through false promises," Kumari Selja said in a statement issued here today.

She added a waste management plant was established at Bakrianwali village in Sirsa in 2006. Over the past 18 years, hundreds of thousands of tonnes of garbage had accumulated at the site. Though machinery was installed at the plant in 2006 to process waste and produce compost, the plant itself had now turned into a garbage dump, she stressed, adding a similar waste management plant in Ambala failed to produce compost or electricity, despite the BJP government’s promise to generate electricity from waste.

Selja said Union Power Minister and former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced that electricity would be generated from waste in Haryana, starting with waste-to-energy plants in Gurugram and Faridabad. "While electricity generation is a good initiative, attention must also be paid to the existing waste management plants, which are now surrounded by massive garbage heaps. Residents of Bakrianwali village have repeatedly protested and gone on hunger strikes because the unprocessed waste has led to foul odour diseases, and non-fertile fields in the surrounding areas," she added.

The Sirsa MP said even the announcement to generate electricity from the Sirsa district plant remained confined to papers. The government has acknowledged its reliance on other states for meeting Haryana's electricity needs, with demand increasing annually. Recently, an MoU was signed between the state and the Central Government to produce electricity from waste. However, Selja raised concerns about the safety risks, particularly in Ambala and Sirsa, where air force bases are located. Garbage attracts birds, increasing the risk of accidents during flights.