BENGALURU: Taking serious note of the odour emanating from the units of Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) causing health hazard to the local residents, the Karnataka High Court on Monday ordered the KCDC Managing Director to be present before it on June 29, the next date of hearing.
A special division bench of Justice B S Patil and Justice B V Nagarathna, which is monitoring solid waste management (SWM) in the city, also directed the Managing Director, who is primarily responsible for the problems facing the residents, to come with a status report regarding the actual amount of leachate waste removed and the proposal for removal of remaining waste within the prescribed time span.
The court also directed the BBMP to file a status report regarding the action taken by adopting advanced technology along with other indigenous methods to prevent the odour emanating and other associated health hazards from KCDC plant.
This was after a resident submitted that the residents around the units established by the KCDC, are facing a serious health hazard due to the foul smell emanating from those units. The situation has worsened now as they cannot close the doors and windows due to summer to protect themselves from the smell, she submitted.
In counter, BBMP's counsel K N Puttegowda submitted that KCDC had floated tenders for removing the leachate waste. Action in this regard was likely to start by next week. He assured the court that necessary instructions would be given to KCDC to expedite the process. Then the court asked the KCDC Managing Director to be present with status report.
Meanwhile, Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commissioner (Health and Solid Waste Management), BBMP, apprised the court of the steps being taken to install smart bins for collecting the segregated waste in different parts of the city.
He apprised the court that the process of establishing/installing such bins having the capacity of collecting 1.5 tonnes of solid waste is under way. When the court suggested expediting this process and ensure that at least 100 such bins were installed by the next date of hearing, Khan submitted that he would file an affidavit containing action taken so far and the action proposed to be taken within one month to install at least 100 new smart bins. The court then granted two weeks' time to file an affidavit in this regard.
2,000 litter bins installed
On the queries made by the Court, Sarfaraz Khan submitted that about 2,000 litter bins were installed in the past in different places in Bengaluru. Out of them, about 500 bins were either damaged or stolen and action was initiated against the culprits.
Further, Khan submitted that another 2,000 litter bins have to be installed by the next date of hearing in different commercial areas after identifying the same by the BBMP. In addition, action has to be initiated to ensure that these bins which are already installed and to be installed are periodically and efficiently cleared without allowing the garbage to spill over, he informed.
The court warned that it will initiate action against the officials concerned if they failed to convene the meeting of Ward Committees.