HC to BBMP: Make waste-processing plants functional in 4 weeks

The High Court of Karnataka on Friday directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike to make all the seven waste-processing plants operational in four weeks.

Hearing a batch of petitions relating to the city's garbage problems, a division bench comprising Justice B S Patil and Justice B V Nagarathna also directed to make the zonal joint commissioners responsible for keeping them functional.

Issuing a series of directions to BBMP joint commissioner in-charge of health and solid waste management Sarfaraz Khan, the bench made him responsible to ensure safe operations of all the seven waste-processing plants.

It said the zonal joint commissioners should ensure security and optimum operation of the plants in their jurisdictional areas, asking them to visit the plants once a week and submit reports. In addition, zonal superintendent engineers should visit the plants twice a week and give a weekly report to the joint commissioner, solid waste management (SWM).

To ensure effective operation of the plants, the bench asked the zonal joint commissioners to hold monthly meetings with the plant staff, operators, managers, local residents and elected representatives.

It also directed the chief secretary to set up a technical committee, comprising of experts from the Indian Institute of Science and Indian Institute of Horticulture Research, with a representative from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board and two members of the BBMP's expert committee on SWM. The bench said this committee would advise the BBMP to effectively operate the plants.

In its various other directions, the bench said the BBMP should manage the funds to run the plants, deploy marshals to guard them and install CCTV camera surveillance.

It also asked the KSPCB to provide necessary clearances to operationalise the plants and declare buffer zones around them. The police department should provide protection to the plants and vehicles transporting waste.

The BBMP has also been directed to deploy environmental/chemical engineers working in other departments - like town planning, traffic engineering cells, road widening and infrastructure, and stormwater drains - to manage the plants.

The bench asked zonal joint commissioners not to allow anyone other than the authorised personnel into the processing plants without the written consent of the official concerned.