THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) intervention and row over illegal dumping of waste in Tamil Nadu have landed the bulk waste generators in the state capital in trouble.
Following the incident, Suchitwa Mission has blacklisted one of the three service providers leading to a waste management crisis in the state capital.
Many bulk waste generators including hoteliers, malls and apartment complexes in the state capital are in trouble after the blacklisting of the service provider.
It is learned that the majority of the bulk waste generators including the Railways were depending on this service provider. Recently, several loads of waste generated at Kochuveli Railway station were dumped in a private land near Kumarapuram as the carting away of waste to Tamil Nadu came to a halt after the NGT intervention.
Similarly, tonnes of waste collected from major hotels, malls, apartment complexes and hospitals were found illegally dumped along with medical waste in Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu.
UDF parliamentary party leader P Padmakumar said that garbage is dumped everywhere. “Heaps of waste have started appearing in the National Highways and service roads. All this dumped waste are ending up in the drains clogging them. If there is heavy rain, the roads will start flooding,” he said.
The BJP has given a notice calling for a special council to discuss the waste management crisis.
“The service providers don’t have the facilities for managing waste. They claim that the waste is being transported to pig farms, which is a lie. After completing four years, the corporation has been a total failure in the waste management front,” said BJP parliamentary party leader M R Gopan.
It is learned that the Haritha Karma Sena is collecting around 25- 35 tonnes of waste per day through door-to-door collection. “Blacklisting a single agency will not affect the waste management of the corporation. Other agencies are also there and we have Clean Kerala Company Ltd too,” said a senior official of the health wing. The official said that around nine bulk waste generators in the capital have been found to be part of the violation involving dumping of waste in Tamil Nadu.
The official said that the bulk waste generators who are hesitant to sign up with the corporation for waste management are in trouble. “Haritha Karma Sena members will not collect unsegregated waste from them and they are depending on these private agencies for disposing of tonnes of mixed waste,” said the official.
City in crisis
Bulk waste generators including hoteliers, malls and apartments in trouble
Crisis emerges at a time when govt launched week-long anti-littering campaign