GUWAHATI, Jan 5 � The State Government and the authorities concerned have not been complying with the directives of the Union Forest Ministry, the Planning Commission of India and the legal provisions in matters related with dumping of municipal waste on the Deepor Beel wetland, the lone Ramsar site of the State, alleged RTI-cum-environment activist Rohit Choudhury.
Choudhury, who was speaking to this newspaper, said that the State Government and the authorities concerned have not complied with the September 27, 2006 directive of the Director General (DG) of Forest, Government of India to stop dumping of waste on the Deepor Beel wetland and to clean up the wetland immediately under the supervision of experts concerned.
The DG Forest�s letter said, among other things, ��Deepor Beel which is a Ramsar site, is being used for dumping solid waste and medical waste by municipal authorities,� Choudhury said.
On September 16, 2008, the Advisor (Environment and Forest) to the Planning Commission of India recommended in his letter to the Commissioner and Secretary, Environment and Forests, Assam, stoppage of dumping of municipal garbage in the wetland and to shift the dumping site to another site immediately. The letter was issued following the visit of the Planning Commission�s team of experts to the Deepor Beel site on August 13 and 14, 2008, Choudhury said.
On top of all these, the Guwahati Municipal Corporation also failed to submit the annual report (Form II)�to the Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup (Metropolitan) district under rule 4(4)(b) of the Municipal Solid Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2000.�The rules state that the municipal authority should furnish its annual report in Form-II,�to the District Magistrate or the Deputy Commissioner concerned in case of all other towns and cities, with a copy to the State Board or the Committee on or before the 30th�day of June every year.
