NEW DELHI: After several letters, meetings and requests failed to bring about change, the residents of Golf Links Residency in Dwarka Sector 18 have come out on the roads in a peaceful protest against the dumping of garbage by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation right outside their homes.
In a move that has united residents in the housing society, they have taken responsibility for keeping the neighbourhood clean and hygienic after the civic body didn’t pay attention to the issue. Around 5,000 people live in the complex.
The problems of the residents began when the SDMC started constructing a dhalao, a waste storage depot, opposite the society. Every day, trucks come to dump garbage collected from sectors 5, 6, 12, 11, 23, 22 and many other sectors.
“Surprisingly, the garbage from our society is not dumped there. As per the Supreme Court, the civic bodies, Delhi Development Authority and the Residents Welfare Association need to have a common approach to any new development, and we were completely kept out of the loop,” said Pranay Ranjan, treasurer, RWA of Golf Links Residency.
Taking note of the increasing arrival of garbage trucks, the residents decided to keep a watch on the dumping of waste and started stopping the trucks.
“The air quality deteriorated. When the wind blows, the whole society is engulfed in a stinky smell. The children and the elderly find it difficult to walk in the evening. There has been no conversation or initiative by the DDA and SDMC with our society regarding the dhalao construction. It began early this year. Ever since then we have been writing letters to both the authorities, but got no response,” said Ajinkya Gunjan Mishra, an advocate by profession who has been living in the society for five years.
On Sunday, the residents took out a peaceful protest march to former SDMC mayor Kamaljeet Sehrawat’s residence. Since then the number of trucks has gone down, claimed the society members. After the protest and turning away of trucks, the SDMC and the RWA had a meeting, but the residents said it wasn’t fruitful.
“It was more of a dialogue with us, not a discussion. They wanted us to lay off from what we are doing. They are planning to bring in a compost machine. But the moment it is installed, there will be more garbage. We are paying huge taxes to the civic body, but it seems they are hardly bothered about the residents,” Mishra said.
The residents claimed that the dhalao had been constructed allegedly in violation of rules and despite being asked, no documents had been presented to them to support the civic body’s claims. The RWA is planning to file an RTI application to go deeper into the matter.
“What they were allotted was 50 square metres for the dhalao, but what has been constructed is of more than 1,000 sq m,” noted Ranjan.
SDMC’s take
An official from the South Delhi Municipal Corporation said on condition of anonymity that the civic body would soon install a waste recycling plant.
“We have modern trucks deployed for carrying garbage, the ones which are covered, and within 10 days, a recycling plant will be installed. The dhalao was constructed five years ago. This is not a new one. But the residents started protesting now. Now the garbage cannot be taken to Okhla for decomposing, there has to be a local plant,” the official said.