Rs 2K-cr fine for failure to treat waste: Patiala Mayor Sanjeev Sharma Bittu blames shoddy tendering process

Tribune News Service

Patiala, September 23

The Rs 2,000-crore fine slapped on the state government by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has irked residents and political leaders of the royal city.

While Mayor Sanjeev Sharma Bittu said bureaucrats and officials of various local bodies were responsible for ‘faulty’ tenders, former Mayor Amarinder Singh Bazaz said the fine was a result of sheer negligence on the part of political leaders of the state.

‘Lack of Political will’

It is not the bureaucracy's fault. It is due to a lack of political will. — Amarinder Singh Bazaz, former mayor

In a press conference, the Mayor questioned the process for allocating tenders for garbage collection and its disposal adopted in the state. Bittu said, “The projects are devised in a way that their implementation becomes difficult. The administrative, finance and technical officials of the MC and other bodies are responsible for such lapses. As such, the state government should identify those officials and fix their responsibility for the lapses.”

Bazaz, a former mayor and SAD leader, said the fine was a result of sheer negligence on the part of the current and previous Congress-led state governments. The Parkash Singh Badal-led government allotted 20 acres at Dudhar village for a solid waste management plan here, but leaders of the Congress and other parties created roadblocks. “In 2017, the Congress-led government scrapped our project and made four clusters, which remained a complete failure,” he added.

He said now, these political leaders would put the blame on administrative officials. The former mayor added, “It is not the bureaucracy’s fault. It is due to a lack of political will.”

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#Environment #National Green Tribunal NGT