Bengaluru's HSR Layout residents divided over shifting compost facility

Residents of HSR Layout are divided over the BBMP’s plan to shift a local composting facility, the Swacha Graha Kalika Kendra (SGKK), to Kudlu.

Members of the Solid Waste Management Round Table, a consortium of waste management experts, want the BBMP to drop the plan of shifting the facility. They said their organisation had been working hard on promoting the practice of composting waste, recycling plastic and sharing ideas on sustainable agriculture in the area. The group is currently maintaining the composting facility.

Another group of residents, on the other hand, are citing the stench in the HSR park area in their argument for shifting the composting facility. Officials said that the BBMP decided to shift the facility to the Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) premises in Kudlu at the request of the second group of citizens, who cited the presence of a learning centre and the park that was being used by many residents.

“The park is now being put to full use and is always open to the general public. This is a community hub not just for the HSR residents, but for all of Bengaluru,” said the HSR Citizens Forum, in its letter to the BBMP.
Citing the history of shutdowns and stench-related issues at the KCDC plant, the forum said that the new place is not suitable for creating a similar learning centre.

MP Tejasvi Surya and BTM Layout MLA Satish Reddy have also opposed the BBMP’s plan to shift the centre.