Act against erring bulk garbage generators, HC tells Palike

The High Court on Thursday issued directions to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to take stringent action against bulk garbage generators, who fail to dispose of garbage along established guidelines.

Hearing a set of petitions related to garbage problems in the City, the Division Bench headed by Justice N Kumar and Justice B V Nagarathna, directed the Palike to undertake a massive public awareness campaign to educate the public over effective waste segregation at source.

The Division Bench observed that the main culprits (in garbage generation) were bulk generators, including commercial establishments, marriage halls and mega residential complexes.

There has been an indiscriminate mixing of plastic and its products with the wet waste in such establishments. These bulk generators should be made to obey the law of the land and appropriate action should be initiated to recover costs if they don’t fall in line, the Bench said.

The counsel for the petitioner submitted that more than 1,900 tonnes of solid waste was being generated by these bulk generators every day. The BBMP counsel submitted to the court that an official will be appointed to keep a tab on bulk generators within two days.

The official will oversee garbage collection, removal and transportation from related establishments. He will also be required to be present in court at all hearings and will answer questions put forward by the court, the counsel said.

Interest needed

The court said there was no doubt that many enthusiastic citizens were trying hard to keep the City clean. “Unless everyone shows the same level of interest and concern, it is not possible to achieve the uphill task.

One of the reasons for non-cooperation may be the ignorance. It is of utmost importance for the BBMP to take appropriate steps to inform the citizens consistently about the need to segregate dry and wet waste at source,” the Bench said.

The Bench further suggested that the State government undertake a television campaign regarding waste segregation.

There will be a public meeting on the situation on December 15 at Town Hall. All citizens are invited to attend.