CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court came down heavily on the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) for its poor sanitation management, observing that “all is not well” with the functioning of the three private agencies engaged in garbage collection and disposal.
The two-judge bench of Justice SK Sahoo and Justice V Narasingh was hearing a matter based on a memo filed by the Orissa High Court Bar Association along with photographs showing heaps of garbage in various parts of the city.
The memo highlighted accumulation of waste in ward numbers 4, 18, 19, 27, 28, 29, 39, 47 and 52. The photographs were taken on record and copies were handed over to the counsel for the CMC, who sought time to obtain instructions.
“The photographs of accumulation of garbage in different wards show that all is not well with the activities of the three agencies, who are charging more than Rs 3 crores every month, and in spite of payment of penalty for their laches, are not mending their activities,” the bench observed.
The bench further noted that while the agencies have received more than Rs 28 crore over the last nine months, the penalty amount of around Rs 70 lakh would not have created much impact on them.
High Court Bar Association president Manoj Mishra and secretary Avijit Patnaik pointed out that many wards lacked dustbins, forcing residents to dump garbage on public roads. In reply, CMC deputy commissioner (sanitation) Jubuli Charan Behera said that a conscious decision was taken to remove the dustbins because they became the dumping points.
The court, however, emphasised that dustbins are integral to waste management in urban areas, noting that while they have some disadvantages, they play a vital role in maintaining hygiene and environmental balance.
Calling for a pilot project, the bench directed the deputy commissioner (sanitation) to explore the possibility of putting the dustbins as a test case at some places in different wards and evaluate the sanitation position. The matter will be reviewed in the next sitting on November 27.
During the proceedings, it was brought to the notice of the court that Behera joined his present post on September 27 this year. He had earlier served as the executive officer of Hinjilicut.
Behera apprised the court that certain sanitation practices followed in Hinjilicut had yielded “remarkable results” and that he had already identified shortcomings in CMC’s ongoing sanitation programmes. He assured the bench that he was discussing with the agencies concerned to address these issues effectively justifying the huge amount spent on sanitation.
