Taking serious note of Bangalore’s sorry state of solid waste management (SWM), the state government proposed to upgrade the garbage disposal system at all urban local bodies (ULB), including the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
Express published on July 12 a number of photographs of the unclean state of Bangalore’s streets after the clearance of the garbage in the morning. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on July 10 that garbage clearance was one of the major issues he needs to tackle.
In his Budget speech, Siddaramaiah stressed the phased abolishment of outsourcing of pourakarmikas. He said the state will take action to fill up the vacant pourakarmika posts in the BBMP and other ULBs. With this, the ULBs can be less dependent on contractors, who often threaten to go on strike.
However, the proposal looks challenging since the previous government’s proposal to recruit 4,000 pourakarmikas in the BBMP is still pending.
The CM earmarked Rs100 crore for scientific management of solid waste in 213 ULBs in the state. This apart, the state government announced another Rs 100 crore for the BBMP to introduce modern technology in solid waste management, including waste to power and waste to compost projects.
Interestingly, Siddardamaiah’s predecessor Jagadish Shettar allocated Rs 100 crore to take up scientific management of solid waste through public-private partnership only at his hometown of Hubli-Dharwad.
However, experts feel Rs 100 crore for garbage disposal is not sufficient.
Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, who also heads Bangalore Political Action Committee (BPAC) tweeted: “Rs 100 crore for SWM is not adequate to solve Bangalore’s garbage crisis. Hope it gets used properly and not leaked away.”