The Hindu : Front Page : Salem turning into garbage town

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Saturday, Oct 04, 2008
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Salem turning into garbage town

S. Ramesh

Photo: P. Goutham

Getting ready: A view of the site identified for compost yard. –

SALEM: Salem is fast turning into a ‘garbage town,’ with the civic administration failing to put in place a clear plan to implement a solid waste management programme (SWMP). Corporation officials said the local body had sent the project to the government for approval.

The city, with around nine lakh people, generates about 350 tonnes of garbage a day. A large part of it can be routinely seen rotting on the streets. The dump yards are overflowing. The situation has turned from bad to worse even after the civic body privatised sanitary works in 21 wards in the city and re-deployed workers from these to other wards.

The Corporation drew up a SWMP years ago to streamline garbage collection and disposal, and establish a scientific waste treatment facility. But its implementation was delayed inordinately for reasons best known only to officials.

The programme has undergone repeated revision.

In a recent revision, the civic body proposed to implement the SWMP on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis. The State government had allotted 100 acres to establish a modern compost yard and a scientific landfill. But the local body has not formed the approach roads or created other basic amenities on the site. “People face a serious health threat as sanitary conditions in many parts of the city continue to be poor,” a senior citizen said.

“There is no sign that the political and administrative class is inclined to take effective measures to sort out the garbage problems in the city, which is allotted huge funds for several major development projects. If the sanitary conditions remain the same, the city may lose industrial investments in future,” one industry source said.

The Salem Corporation did not make any concrete efforts even after neighbouring Namakkal achieved the status of a ‘zero garbage’ town and received appreciation from all over, citizens say.

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