Minister dumps Palike's plan

The land near Muthyalamaduvu in Anekal district has remained unused since it was handed over by the Revenue department to the Palike. Sources said interference by Minister for Prisons and Social Welfare A Narayanswamy, who is a local MLA, was preventing the Palike from utilising the land.

He refused to give his ‘approval’ to dump garbage collected from the City. “The 200 acres of wasteland, located 70 kilometre from Bangalore, was transferred to us by the Revenue department three years ago. However, the local MLA has been unwilling to allow us to dump garbage there,” said the source.

The existing land fills are facing pressure from the mounting garbage and the wasteland in Muthyalamaduvu was quite convenient for dumping refuse.

Officials said Narayanswamy had been dissuading the BBMP as it would cause ecological imbalance and other problems in his constituency located on the fringes of Bangalore.
Sources in the Palike, however, justify saying: “There is no habitation in the vicinity and is located amid hills where there is no vegetation.”

Lobbying

The objections raised by Narayanswamy can be attributed to lobbying by quarry owners, who want to extend their operations on the government land, said another Palike official. Efforts to contact Narayanswamy went in vain.