GUWAHATI, March 14 � Though the new mechanism of conservancy services was launched in Guwahati with much hype, the results are hardly satisfactory both in the city and at west Boragaon in the city fringe, where the local residents are vehemently opposing the waste disposal process.
As per the agreement signed between the Guwahati Municipal Corporation and the Guwahati Waste Management Company Private Ltd, the private agency is responsible for day-to-day operation and management of tonnes of garbage generated in Guwahati city, which must be environmentally sustainable.
A compost and power generation plant was also planned at the same location that is supposed to generate six megawatt of power.
But, unfortunately, the authorities concerned, as alleged by the local people of the area, are flouting norms.
�Burning of heaps of garbage is being done regularly, creating smoke and foul smell, which the local people have to endure. Hardly any supervision is being done in the area,� said Jogen Lekharu, president of the Brindabon Nagar Unnayan Committee of Boragaon. �In the city also, the overflowing dustbins are not cleared on a regular basis, which is a gross misuse of crores of rupees of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) fund,� he mentioned.
�Despite repeated protests by the residents of the area, the filth is being scattered in the locality flouting the norms of the agreement, signed on the basis of the public private partnership (PPP),� he added.
�The agreement also speaks of the engineered sanitary landfill on a daily basis, according to which garbage should be dumped at a designated place, abiding by the MSW (Management and Handling) Rules 2000, and it should not have any adverse impact on the environment,� Subodh Sarma, president of the Mahanagar Unnayan Samity, Guwahati told The Assam Tribune.
�The unscientific method of the whole �integrated waste processing facility� in Boragaon is badly affecting the environment and the water bodies around the project site. Ironically, the garbage dumping site was shifted to Boragaon to protect the Deepor Beel, a Ramsar Site wetland,� he mentioned.
He further mentioned that a waste segregation plant should have been started first in the site, which has not been done yet.
Acknowledging the problem of burning the garbage at the site, a senior GMC official said that the corporation takes action whenever such an incident is reported. The residents however, refuse to accept this. �Due to the lack of supervision, the local residents have to bear the foul smell and smoke. The Assam State Pollution Control Board has also done nothing in this regard, despite the fact that the matter was reported to them long time back,� Sarma alleged.
