The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will urge the communities living around the Mandur landfill to allow dumping of garbage for some more time until alternate arrangements are made. The communities had set January 31 as the deadline to stop dumping garbage.
This is not the first time that the BBMP has sought time from the communities to continue dumping in the landfills there.BBMP Commissioner Siddaiah told reporters here on Thursday that the civic body needs another year at least to have scientific solid waste management practices in place. "We will urge the communities to grant us more time. The government and BBMP are already in the process of setting up other landfills. We need time at least till these are in place," Mr Siddaiah said.
Conceding that the landfills are only temporary solutions to the garbage problem, he said that the government and BBMP would finalise the SWM proposals submitted by over 35 companies by March 1. The proposals are being verified and the new technologies would be adopted to clear the accumulated garbage in the existing landfills, he added.
Mr. Siddaiah said, the permanent solution to the garbage crisis would be 100 per cent waste segregation at source and ensuring that only inerts are sent to the landfills. In another two months time, the dry waste collection centres would be set up in all the 198 wards in the city, he claimed.
He added that the Deputy Commissioner, Bangalore (Rural) district, had fixed the price for the 476 acres of land identified for setting up of a waste processing unit in Doddaballapur. "It has been communicated to us and the BBMP has begun the process of transferring Rs. 10.60 lakh (price fixed for the land) to the Deputy Commissioner, who will then either notify the land or acquire it."
He also said the BBMP has been informed that 300 acres of land, which is around five km away from any habitation, is available at Bagepalli, less than 100 km from the city. That apart, the BBMP has begun the process of acquiring 90 acres of land in Karenahalli, near Bidadi, through Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) process. Process to acquire another 60 acres at Kalbalu, beyond Jigani, has also begun.
Mr. Siddaiah said the Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) would be strengthened to increase the capacity. Towards this, the BBMP has provided an assistance of Rs. 4.5 crore to KCDC. The BBMP would also be giving KCDC its land in Kudlu to set up a wet waste processing unit with a capacity to process 500 tonnes a day. "We are preparing the 31 acres at Chikkanagamangala so that the KCDC can take it over and process 300-400 tonnes of wet waste a day." With this, the BBMP’s share holding in KCDC, which is currently around 24 per cent, is likely to increase, he added.
