Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) is all set to segregate the dry and wet waste at source in the city from January 15 as part of its ambitious plans to make city clean and litter free.
Notwithstanding the plans, the officials are perplexed over the location of the dumping yard. The VMC is having a tough time to find alternatives particularly after the closure of Pathapadu dumping yard. Residents of Adavinekkalam village near here were also up in arms against the proposal to develop a dumping yard in their locality.
It has become a Herculean task for the VMC to acquire land for scientific dumping of MSW. Though proposals were mooted for development of 100 acres into a scientific garbage dump yard at Nunna, they remained on paper for various reasons, including stiff opposition from farmers and the Forest Department.
At present, the Corporation is dumping the garbage at Ajithsingh Nagar and other areas, despite stiff opposition from the locals. With the VMC turning a deaf ear to their plea for last two years, residents are gearing up to launch another agitation over the issue. “The corporation has reneged on its promise that it would stop dumping garbage here after December 31, 2012 as the VMC officials are not serious in finding a permanent solution to the problem,” they alleged.
The Corporation’s apathy was exposing residents to serious health problems. In summer, smoke billows out of burning garbage and it stinks during rainy season. Dumping of garbage in a residential area is in gross violation of the norms spelt out by the Supreme Court. “Residents will soon launch agitation, if the VMC continues to dump garbage in their localities,” says CPI (M) city Secretary Ch. Babu Rao.
When contacted, Municipal Commissioner C. Hari Kiran said the Corporation was actively considering the ‘Zero landfill’ proposal.
The city will be the first of its kind to do away with the dumping yard concept altogether. The Corporation has zeroed in on a site at Pathapadu to set up a waste-to-energy plant. The project would be implemented in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode , he says.
