Delhi has no policy for locating dumps, north corporation tells CIC

Times of India: New Delhi: Sunday, September 17, 2017.

Delhi has no policy when it comes to selecting spots for dumping garbage (dhalaos), the CIC was informed recently.

The admission came on an RTI plea filed by Malti, a resident of Azadpur, who had asked for details of a dhalao in Gurmandi, located opposite a CGHS dispensary.

Denied her request for information, Malti approached the Central Information Commission (CIC), which was informed by officials of the north corporation that the dhalao could not be relocated. It was also informed that the Delhi administration had no policy or guidelines on dhalaos. An official of the north civic body went on to tell the information commissioner Yashovardhan Azad, "However, it is submitted that decisions in respect of dhalaos are being taken by the higher authorities on the basis of need and sanitary conditions of a particular area."

Noting that the RTI application was one that is "aimed at serving the interest of the residents and commuters of the area Gurmandi, Rajpura", information commission Azad had in his interim order directed the concerned authority to produce the guidelines in the "manual for construction of such garbage dumps and also likely options for shifting and relocating the dump".

North corporation, however, said that there were no such policy for identifying garbage dumps. It also informed the CIC that with an acute lack of space to relocate the dhalao, the request of local residents of Rajpura could not be accepted. The official further told the CIC that there was a "high possiblity of encroachment of the area, even if the garbage dump could be shifted from the current location.

Locals had objected to the dhalao being located opposite the dispensary and next to a residential colony, raising "concerns of the spread of diseases such dengue, H1N1 among residents visiting the health clinic," the appellant had argued in her RTI. The fact that waste from nearby pig slaughter houses was also being dumped at the dhalao, aggravated the filth and increased chances of spread of endemic diseases, said the information commissioner's order.

Accepting the north corporation's contention, Azad in his order said, "In view of the facts of the case, since there are no policies or guidelines for construction of such garbage dumps, the Commission is compelled to direct a closure of this case, with recommendation to the civic authorities to locate a suitable replacement for the garbage dumping area in near future to ease the problem of cohabitation of people in close vicinity of such filth."