Bengaluru stares at a stinking crisis

Closure of three waste processing centres coupled with increased collection of wet waste by the BBMP have landed Bengaluru on the brink of another garbage crisis this Deepavali.

Of the seven processing plants set up at a cost of Rs 450 crore, plants located at Seegehalli, Subbarayana Palya and Lingadheeranahalli have been shut, with locals fiercely opposing plants at Seegehalli and Subbarayana Palya citing health hazards. And the issue of the Lingadheeranahalli plant is pending before the Supreme Court.

Adding to the BBMP's woes, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has put the civic body in a fix by calling for the reopening of the shut down processing plants.

The seven plants are capable of converting 1,520 metric tonnes of wet waste into compost. But the closure of three units (420 MT) has meant that only 1,100 MT wet waste is being processed daily at the four plants.

D Randeep, Special Commissioner, BBMP (Solid Waste Management), said they are awaiting a response from the government. The issue pending before the Supreme Court will be resolved soon, he said.

“The NGT had formed an inspection committee which had agreed that the processing unit is working well within norms," Randeep said. "Despite the opinion, the NGT stayed the operations and directed us to apply afresh for environmental clearance. The BBMP has appealed in the Supreme Court against the NGT order. The matter will come up for hearing soon."

Amid this crisis, the BBMP has been seeing increased generation of wet waste, especially in 30 wards, thanks to biting penalties for not segregating. But with the civic body hampered by the closure of three waste processing plants, there is a chance of the excess waste being diverted to landfills or left attended, leading to the eyesore of blackspots.

A junior health inspector from South Zone told DH admitted to the problem. “The wards which used to generate 400-500 tonnes of wet waste previously are now generating more than 1,000 tonnes. With heavy penalty on offenders, people are segregating the waste and handing it over to the BBMP,” he said.

Following KSPCB’s letter to restart the closed plants, the BBMP has written to the state government. Courts have also directed for increasing the capacity of the processing plants to address the garbage crisis.

Solid waste experts said if the BBMP fails to resolve the deadlock at the earliest and restart the plants, the wet waste will again be diverted to the landfill, thus rendering the new segregation plan a failure.