Open House: What steps should the authorities take to ensure timely removal of garbage heaps?

Residents of the city are now fed up with piles of garbage accumulating near their houses and colonies, in fact, almost everywhere. Littering has not only led to the defacement of the city but also made it a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Without any doubt, the apathy of the district administration toward maintaining cleanliness is a major reason behind this. The foremost duty of the authorities concerned is to put forth proper instructions for sanitation workers so that heaps of garbage can be removed timely and also dismiss those who do not adhere to the instructions. Apart from this, dustbins should be placed at a distance of every one kilometre and waste segregation encouraged. Hawkers and street vendors selling snacks should make proper arrangements for managing disposable cutlery after its use by the customers. Besides, residents should not dump garbage by the roadside as it only aggravates the situation and makes it even worse. They can approach the local authorities in case sanitation workers do not collect the waste from their doorsteps on a regular basis. Collective efforts by the administration and residents are needed to solve the problem.

Sammy Cheema

Hire new firms that can deliver

The foremost step that the district administration should take is to cancel the current contract of private companies engaged for waste management and select some new contractor for the purpose. This is because of the fact that in today’s time, private contractors are hired to provide efficient services and if they fail to perform their duties, then the only remedy lies in nullifying their contract and finding some new alternative that can deliver the goods. By taking this measure, the whole problem of garbage removal across the city can be resolved in an orderly manner. Last but not the least, awareness should be created amongst residents to not throw garbage in open areas as the government has imposed a heavy fine on violators.

Sanjay Chawla

Invoke laws, make punishment inevitable

Garbage as we know it, is an indicator of wealth and economic inequality. The richer a city or a country gets, the more garbage it generates. Amritsar’s daily output is about 700 tonnes, much of it in the shape of plastic bags or cartons of packaging industry besides the kitchen waste. Plastic bags which were banned with great fanfare are back with a bang and no one minds. Vans are deputed to lift the waste daily and they do it laboriously as a matter of routine, collecting the same from door to door, but the problem is where to dump it. In the absence of a regular landfill, heaps are seen at street corners, outside parks and public places and on footpaths even in developed colonies. The tendency is to blame the local government, but usually the residents, the people who live here, hardly contribute to the upkeep of the city. They have no role or responsibility even in the separation of the refuse. Encroachments are rampant and garbage heaps are used as aids to help vested interests. Sweepers sweep the streets only superficially with the result that mounds of dust form, inviting house garbage which is scattered by stray dogs and cows. Unless laws are invoked and punishments made inevitable, the picture is not likely to change in the foreseeable future. The fleet of garbage vans, now gone rickety with time and poor maintenance, needs to be replaced. Schools and hospitals maintain their premises, but are helpless over their outer walls. Right now, no one knows if there is a Municipal Corporation since elections are overdue.

Prof Mohan Singh

Sensitising public can help waste mgmt

Garbage heaps can be found everywhere. However, the Metro cities are facing the problem in its worst form. Unfortunately, a historic and religious city tops the chart of dirtiest cities. The other cities don’t lag behind as well. It is a sad fact that the public lacks civic sense. It throws garbage in the open. Therefore, there is an urgent need to sensitise people about the proper disposal of household garbage. The government should educate school kids about the significance of keeping their surroundings clean. Disposing of garbage properly should be made a part of the curriculum and students should be given hands-on training in it. Once the idea of keeping the city garbage-free gets drilled into their minds, it will remain etched there permanently. It will, in turn, automatically free bazaars and streets from litter. Moreover, educated kids will also relay the message of keeping the surroundings of the city garbage-free to their elders. Thus, it will set up a chain reaction and help achieve the goal. The solution lies in educating and sensitising the masses about the importance of garbage-free streets and colonies. Other methods are a mere adjunct to it.

Prof Rajan Kapoor, Nakodar

Manage waste scientifically in cities

Effective management of waste is crucial for maintaining public health and environmental quality. The district administration can take certain steps for this, such as implementing a municipal solid waste management plant covering aspects like waste collection, transportation, treatment and disposal through the Municipal Corporation (MC). Unfortunately, the MC lacks administrative stability, adequate infrastructure, financial resources, institutional capacity and political willpower to manage the piles of garbage effectively. Consequently, MC authorities are accountable for insanitary conditions and heaps of garbage piling up at public places, in parks and streets of the cities. The issue arises mainly due to the frequent transfer of officials. For example, the Jalandhar MC Commissioner has been transferred every three or four months during the previous year. Additionally, the absence of an elected Mayor and councillors for almost a year due to delayed MC elections, political interference, shortage of sweepers and unresolved grievances of contractual sweepers exacerbate the problem. The MC authorities have failed to hire alternative workers, deploy machinery to clear the garbage, enforce rules and regulations regarding waste management and penalise to prevent people from littering and dumping debris/garbage in parks, streets and public places. The lack of public initiative to motivate the residents to supply segregated garbage at source and encourage the use of recyclable and biodegradable materials also aggravates the problem. Nothing significant has been done for the disposal of huge mountain-like garbage dumps in most cities. Consequently, many landfills in cities are overburdened, unscientifically managed, and located near densely populated areas like the one near Waryana in Jalandhar city. All these issues need to be addressed by the district administration on a priority basis.

Dr Kulwant Singh Phull

Identify errors in waste management

Cities such as Jalandhar and Amritsar are termed smart cities because of their fast and zestful growth. This seems utterly paradoxical considering how these cities have entered the New Year with piles of garbage at the doorsteps of residents. Many villages and cities like Waryana and Amritsar seem to be completely submerged under heaps of single-use plastic, fruit peels and hazardous chemicals adding to the toxicity and making the lives of people hell. The authorities need to identify the main error in the waste management system and act quickly. Garbage at these dumps is highly toxic and is creating a major health hazard. The government needs to find a way to dispose of these waste piles to centres where the bio-waste can be converted into natural soil and used for farming and plantation. The non-biodegradable waste can be moulded into 4Rs —- recycle, reuse, reduce and refuse. In foreign countries, plastic bottles and packets are converted into wearable sports and casual wear. We can take inspiration from them and devise ways and items to create the best from the waste. The administration alone cannot bring a change unless the people try. Reusing and reducing plastic is one of the key ways to decrease the waste produced in households. Also, refusing all kinds of single-use plastic is an essential step toward environmental sanity. If the authorities act swiftly, then these ways can be effective in preventing garbage mountains like in Delhi and protecting the masses from countless diseases.

Lakshit Jindal

Find sustainable solutions to garbage

With an exponential rise in population, domestic waste has also increased manifold. The household garbage is mostly collected manually, but thrown in open vacant spaces around houses, localities and roads due to relatively fewer dumps or carelessness of safai sewaks. The conditions are so deplorable that even the erstwhile posh localities and heritage streets are not spared. It gives not only a shabby look to our surroundings but also causes pollution, which becomes the basic cause of many ailments. Indeed, disposal of garbage is a big challenge, which needs earnest efforts for efficient management of both solid and liquid waste. In cities, the onerous task to collect and dispose of garbage is assigned to municipal committees. Some of them have taken the initiative to replace manual cleaning by mechanical sweeping. However at many places, the civic authorities are facing stiff resistance from the sanitation workers, apprehending loss of jobs. Likewise in villages, ponds and drains meant for water conservation and smooth flow of excess water are either full of dirt and garbage or illegally encroached upon. Such practices have to be curbed if we want to keep our environment clean and green. The government launched Swachh Bharat Mission in 2014 to sensitise the public towards environmental issues with emphasis on cleanliness and hygiene to improve the general quality of life of citizens. Apart from beautification drive, the mission needs to be executed strictly and fairly adopting scientific and microbial ways for faster decomposition of bio-waste. These measures involve regular collection, transportation, processing, recycling, treatment and disposal of the waste material. While the collection and transportation of garbage should be contracted to private hands, stringent action should be proposed against the officials for any lackadaisical approach in execution of sanitation work.

Nirmaljit Singh Chatrath

Integrate ragpickers into the system

It is mandatory as per Municipal Solid Waste rules of 2016 and 2018 that the daily generated 500 tonnes waste of Jalandhar city should be duly processed by setting up a plant with the latest technology. Dry components like cardboard/paper, plastic, metal, glass, rubber, leather and textiles should be recycled and wet biodegradable waste converted to compost, biogas, bio-CNG etc. Construction and demolition waste should be used to make bricks and tiles in another plant. Seven acres of land is available at Pholdiwal and a plant like the one at Dadumajra in Chandigarh should be set up there. No daily waste should go to Waryana dump. Secondly, the garbage at Waryana dump should be cleared by bio-mining every two-three years to reclaim 16 acres of land from under it. Thirdly, door-to-door waste collection by ragpickers should be brought under the control of the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation by integrating them with the system. They should be helped to pick up items of their interest as usual and sell them in an organised way. The administration should not adopt a policy to extract any profits from the waste management companies, rather they should encourage them with incentives. Lastly, the already existing compost pits should be utilised by proper deployment of men and machinery.

Er Gurbax Singh

Recruit safai sewaks on permanent basis

The Punjab government should sanction ample funds for the Municipal Corporation and they should go ahead with sanctioning of money for purchase of garbage pick-up vans for every ward and increase the number of Safai Sewaks. For long, the sanitation workers were made permanent and now for proper lifting of garbage, the need is to go for the permanent recruitment of safai sewaks again. The district administration should ensure the lifting of garbage that has been collected throughout the day at various dumps early in the morning. The residents should also ensure that they dispose of their house garbage in plastic bags and the Safai Sewaks should collect the same in a methodical way.

Rajat Kumar Mohindru

Basic services should be part of MC policy

To run a country, we need public departments which should be backed by scientific and social research institutions. Unfortunately, urban development authorities, municipal corporations, Improvement Trusts and even an institution like the Mandi Board that takes up housing development projects brings only top-to-bottom approach. We must accept that only the profitability of the government cannot be the criterion for these departments. What residents look for while purchasing plots in any colony is right location near basic services like hospitals, schools, bus stands or railway stations, police stations, availability of water and electricity, right disposal of rainwater, proper sewerage and drainage etc. Solid waste disposal has not yet become the policy of our town planners. All basic civic amenities and services should be part of the policies of municipal corporations. Moreover, every colony has a society or every village has a public representative. These representatives must organise training in their respective societies to bring behavioural changes in the public so that they can understand the best practices of garbage disposal. Generally, municipal corporations make dumps in colonies, and then ragpickers take garbage from these dumps in vans to disposal sites. These ragpickers should be given incentives for regular lifting of garbage from the colonies. The public must understand the importance of segregation of garbage at source so that minimum manpower is required for the processing of garbage. Above all, the municipal authorities should remain regularly in touch with the public so that discrepancies arising out of public policies should be resolved on a priority basis.

Harvinder Singh Chugh

QUESTION for next week

Amid the biting chill, the city railway station, thoroughfares and slums teem with people who have to spend nights in the open. With plenty of shelter homes and ashrams in the city and non-functional raen baseras, shouldn’t the administration and care homes, which take hefty donations to care for the underprivileged, share the responsibility of preventing rough sleeping?

Suggestions in not more than 200 words can be sent to jalandhardesk@tribunemail.com by Thursday (Jan 11)