Times of India: Rajkot: Tuesday,
September 13, 2016.
It was in
2005 that Gujarat Urban Development Company Ltd (GUDC) was made the nodal
agency to implement the project to scientifically dispose the solid waste in
all municipalities of Gujarat. But an RTI application has revealed that GUDC
does not even have the basic data of the volume of solid waste generated in the
state even 11 years later.
The sorry
state of affairs of piling garbage in all urban areas in Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's home state is glaring amid all the hype surrounding the Swachh
Bharat mission.
In the reply
to an RTI application filed by activist Shailendrasinh Jadeja, the GUDC has
replied that the state government does not have any data about the solid waste
management like how much waste is generated daily in each 101 civic bodies (93
municipalities and eight municipal corporations), how much vermicompost is
being mad and status of landfill sites.
"I
sought various details from GUDC which include the details of landfill sites of
eight municipal corporations, grants given to corporations, municipalities and
details of third-party inspection of landfill sites etc. But GUDC did not
provide any data saying that it does not have any," Jadeja told TOI.
Interestingly,
GUDC's own website says that due to lakc of finance and technical assistance,
the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of Gujarat have failed to comply with the Supreme
Court's order that made scientific treatment and disposal of solid waste
mandatory as per MSW Rules 2000. "So, the state government has decided to
implement the project centrally for all ULBs utilizing its own resources and
seeking assistance from Central government," the website states.
The RTI also
reveals how the funds for the solid waste disposal have remained untilized.
"In 2015, GUDC has given technical sanction for Rs 236 crore but it still
awaits administrative approval," Jadeja said, quoting the reply.
As far as
landfill sites are concerned, it is mandatory for the civic body to carry out a
third-party inspection. However, GUDC has not made it mandatory for contracts
given in some municipalities.
"Moreover,
it is compulsory to process the solid waste before dumping it into landfill but
no civic body in the state adheres to this. As a result, the whole purpose of
landfill site is defeated," Jadeja said.
No wonder,
mountains of untreated solid waste are mounting on the outskirts of most towns
and cities, posing a huge health hazard to people.
'As per the
rule, every civic body has to provide daily date of solid waste generations,
processing and unprocessed wastes to Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) but
not a single civic body gives data to GPCB'' Jadeja, a GPCB award winner, said.
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