BENGALURU: Justice Subhash Adi, chairman of the National Green Tribunal Monitoring Committee for Solid Waste Management, on Tuesday said residents should manage their waste at street and ward level.
Speaking to residents of Dasarahalli and Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Justice Adi said citizens should follow the motto, “Our waste, our responsibility and our ward, our responsibility.”
He said when residents segregate their waste and compost their wet waste in their ward and street itself, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will save at least `1,000 crore a month.
Officials from the BBMP and ward corporators were also present during the interactive session. While residents were keen to manage their waste, they also pointed out to the garbage piles in most areas of Dasarahalli and Rajarajeshwari Nagar. They said BBMP officials, pourakarmikas and contractors pay little attention to many areas as they are on the city’s outskirts, where “decision makers do not reside”.
Justice Adi said residents must segregate their waste and those failing to do will be penalised heavily. The NGT and courts have banned dumping of waste in land fills and quarry sites any more, he added.
He said of the 11,000 tonnes of garbage generated in Karnataka, 5,800 tonnes is from Bengaluru alone, but only 40 per cent or less is segregated. Dumping of garbage in landfills is only polluting the ground water, he added.