JOIN USAs polls approach, BBMP under pressure to shut waste processing plants
With the Assembly elections just months away, pressure is mounting on the BBMP from elected representatives to shut down waste processing plants that emanate foul smell and pollute groundwater.
Though the civic body processes just 20% of the total waste generated in the city, the closure of some plants will result in more landfills.
The plant at Lingadheeranahalli is very likely to be closed following Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s order to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to either shut the plant or relocate it on the request of local MLA and state Cooperation Minister S T Somashekar. The plant falls within the Yeshwantpur Assembly constituency.
Only last year did the BBMP reopen the Lingadheeranahalli plant after a prolonged legal battle.
Residents of Banashankari 6th Stage are up in arms against the plant, complaining that it lets out foul smell. The plant received only 10 compactors, processing a mere 90 tonnes of wet waste a day.
Besides Lingadheeranahalli, the BBMP is under political pressure to shut plants in Chikkanagamangala and KCDC that fall inside the Bommanahalli Assembly constituency.
The civic body has been holding off on fully operationalising the Subbarayappanapalya plant due to protests, while the Seegehalli facility remains closed.
Out of the 4,500 tonnes of waste generated in the city, the BBMP packs away nearly 3,100 tonnes to landfills, violating the National Green Tribunal order.
Recently, the NGT imposed a Rs 2,900-crore fine for the state’s inability to manage solid and liquid waste.
Sandhya Narayan, a solid waste management expert, stated that the government is focusing on an appeasement policy rather than complying with the regulations.
“The government finds it important to appease select residents even after paying a heavy fine for not processing waste. The plants must be allowed to work by following environmental laws. The BBMP or the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML) do not have technical expertise to run these plants scientifically,” she said.
A recent report by the joint committee of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) revealed several issues with the waste processing plant at Chikkanagamangala right from unscientific dumping of wet waste inside the premises to lack of record on the leachate generated and disposed of, and the poor functioning of the plant.