Ludhiana Civic body fails to ensure waste processing at main dumping site

Harshraj Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 21

Ahead of the Assembly elections 2022 in the state, environmentalists are demanding from political parties to make environment the main issue in their respective manifestos to curb pollution and ensure the management of waste. However, the Municipal Corporation (MC), Ludhiana, is ‘continuously violating’ the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, even after facing environmental compensation of Rs 1.8 crore for the same.

The MC has failed to resume waste processing at its main garbage dump site spread on around 50 acres near Kakka village even over 10 months after a private firm, A2Z group, terminated its services in February this year.

Thus, a large amount of waste is getting collected, forcing people of nearby areas to suffer.

The main garbage dump has been contaminating the groundwater. Earlier, the NGT had also given directions to the civic body to ensure waste processing and make alternative arrangements of water for residents living in nearby areas.

A former councillor, Inder Aggarwal, said: “The A2Z group had given an ultimatum to terminate its services on December 24 and it had then terminated the services in February. The MC had not taken any steps to make required arrangements

to handle solid waste as per rules after the passage of almost one year. Thus, huge heaps of waste are coming up at the main dumping site. The civic body is openly violating the solid waste management rules.”

Earlier also, civic body teams had visited Indore, Chennai, Delhi, Rajasthan and Prayagraj (Allahabad) to study the solid waste management system but no model has been introduced at the ground level in the city. Around 1,100 MT of waste is generated in the city on a daily basis while lakhs of metric tonnes of waste has got collected at the main dumping site as the waste processing is not being done by the MC.

A resident of Kakka Road said: “We had raised the issue many times but the Municipal Corporation and other government authorities concerned ignored the serious threat to us. We have been left to suffer due to the stench emanating from the garbage. People are forced to live under threat of catching diseases due to collection of a huge amount of waste in the area.”

Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu said the civic body would hire a consultant to finalise the plan for better solid waste management in the city. He said a detailed project report regarding the solid waste management would be prepared.

Continues violation even after facing compensation

The Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, is ‘continuously violating’ the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, even after facing an environmental compensation of Rs1.8 crore for the same.

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