Ludhiana MC on toes as NGT imposes Rs 1,026-crore environmental compensation on state
Ludhiana, August 25
The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (MC) is on its toes after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed an environmental compensation of Rs 1,026 crore on the state government for improper disposal of legacy waste and untreated sewage.
It has hit the panic button as the Ludhiana MC is now stressing on segregation of waste. People are being made aware and the MC Commissioner himself is visiting garbage dumpsites to see the waste segregation so that disposal of refuse becomes systematic.
Officials are also busy in planning the disposal of legacy waste. The MC has issued a tender for the disposal of waste at the Jainpur garbage dump. Tender worth Rs 11 crore has been floated for processing 2.18 lakh metric tonnes of garbage. Earlier, garbage was dumped here but in 2012, a ban was imposed on dumping garbage at the spot, after which the MC started dumping waste at the Tajpur dump. Now, the civic body plans to clear the place of trash within a year.
Tenders are also being floated for disposal of garbage that has collected at the Tajpur Road garbage dump. Nearly 22.44 metric tonnes of waste has been collected here and over three years have passed since the garbage processing was stopped.
City produces 1,100 tonnes of garbage. The plan was to do bioremediation of waste. The first phase for 5 lakh metric tonnes of waste was started under the Smart City Mission but the second phase to treat the remaining 20 lakh metric tonnes of waste could not start as tenders were called off.
This week, MC Joint Commissioner Inderpal conducted a surprise inspection at different static compactor sites situated in Sherpur and the Partap chowk area. During the inspection, the Joint Commissioner also interacted with garbage collectors and directed them to collect segregated dry and wet waste from households.
Civic body teams have also been conducting awareness drives in the city to make residents aware of source segregation of wet and dry waste.
Civic body Commissioner Sandeep Rishi appealed to residents to support the civic body in improving the solid waste management in the city by handing over segregated dry and wet waste to garbage collectors. He also appealed to them to stop dumping garbage at vacant sites/plots.
The NGT’s decision came after reviewing various reports and data that highlight the poor state of waste management in Punjab.
The NGT has directed the Punjab Chief Secretary to deposit the amount with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) within a month and to submit a compliance report. It has also asked why criminal proceedings under Section 26 of the NGT Act and provisions of criminal proceedings under the Water Act should not be initiated.
Efforts on to make waste disposal systematic
The Ludhiana civic body is now stressing on segregation of waste. People are being made aware and the MC Commissioner himself is visiting garbage dumpsites to see the waste segregation so that disposal of refuse becomes systematic.
