BENGALURU: With the garbage issue remaining unsolved for many years because of multiple reasons, including inefficiency of the government and the powerful and unyielding contractors’ lobby, the Lokayukta has stepped in to put an end to the menace.
From now on, garbage management in Bengaluru would be overseen by the Lokayukta, giving hope to citizens that Bengaluru may shed its ‘garbage city’ tag.
Expressing his displeasure over the garbage issue in Bengaluru, Lokayukta Justice BS Patil told TNIE that the report by the Lokayukta SP and DySP on the city’s garbage management is disheartening. The Lokayukta will monitor garbage management and hold public hearings, for which dates will be announced in advance, Patil said.
This decision comes after the Lokayukta on June 5 inspected the Bengaluru North City Corporation (BNCC), covering Anandnagar, RT Nagar and Byatrayanapura, which were riddled with blackspots. Irked by poor garbage management, the Lokayukta had sought an explanation from the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Ltd (BSWML). In return, BSWML had expressed its helplessness and pointed to the powerful contractors’ lobby, along with bureaucratic inefficiency, for the city peppered with heaps of garbage and multiple black spots.
“It (garbage pile) is a very serious matter, and we are going to monitor it. We want to see to it that something drastic is done,” said Justice Patil. He added that there is no accountability on the contractors’ part as vehicles lack GPS tracking.
BSWML Chief Executive Officer Karee Gowda, who appeared before the Lokayukta, said, “I conveyed to the Lokayukta that without the completion of garbage tender process, nothing will happen. I brought to his notice how the contractors’ lobby has impacted garbage management and how they are trying to hold BSWML to ransom.”
He told the Lokayukta that the city has 4,950 garbage trucks, but not one has GPS tracking. Without it, tracking of vehicles becomes difficult. “I also told the Lokayukta that contractors go to the extent of approaching courts to get tenders cancelled which is a ploy to throw garbage management into disarray, at the cost of the city suffering and getting a bad reputation globally,” Gowda said.
4 ACRES TO BE RESERVED FOR WASTE TRANSFER STATION IN VITTASANDRA
Bengaluru South City Corporation Additional Commissioner Naveen Kumar Raju visited the waste transfer station in Vittasandra, falling under the jurisdiction of Begur hobli on the outskirts of the city, on Monday. Of 65 acres of government land in Vittasandra village, four acres need to be earmarked for the waste transfer station.
Raju directed officials to immediately conduct a survey and demarcate boundaries for this area. He noted that some persons had illegally dumped silt and commercial waste in areas surrounding the waste transfer station, and ordered that security arrangements be made to prohibit the entry of unauthorised persons into the land. He also instructed officials to take strict action against those illegally dumping silt and waste in the area.
The officials updated Raju that an action plan is being formulated to make the necessary preparations, as approximately two acres of land are required to build a well-equipped plant and compost centre at the waste transfer station. The Additional Commissioner instructed officials present to take urgent measures regarding the construction of the compost centre.