The Swachh Survekshan cleanliness survey — where teams from the Centre rank cities as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission — began on Thursday amidst growing complaints of reckless and unchecked burning of garbage and leaves. Not only does this method of waste disposal pose a hazard to the health of citizens, it also affect the city’s Swachh ranking.
Multiple cases of garbage burning and miscreants setting fire to leaf litter have been reported from across the city in the past one week. BBMP officials themselves conceded that there has been a rise in reports of such incidents in K.R. Puram, Jayamahal, Whitefield, Bellandur, R.R. Nagar and other neighbourhoods.
On Friday, mounds of garbage were set ablaze in Whitefield and next to the K.R. Puram market, said angry residents. Seema Sharma, who lives in Bellandur, pointed out the dumping and burning of waste is going on unabated behind Satva Hospital.
Satyanarayana, a senior citizen and resident of north Bengaluru, said that the health risks posed by burning garbage — such as asthma and other respiratory ailments — are magnified in winter. “It is being done mostly during the early morning hours leading a smog-like situation over the entire area till afternoon,” he said.
Satya Achayya, a senior citizen and resident of Nandidurg Extension, has taken it upon herself to keep a check on burning of garbage and leaf litter in her neighbourhood. "This issue has been persistent in army and railway lands as well as along the tracks. I recently approached senior officials from the defence and railway departments, and they have responded positively. But burning of leaf litter continues unabated within Palace Grounds, despite several letters to both civic officials and Pollution Control Board officials," she said.
Mayor R. Sampah Raj, in the recent council meeting that dealt on measures to curb air pollution in the city, said that they would levy a penalty of ₹1 lakh on those caught burning garbage. However, this is of little effect in a situation where there is no enforcement, residents and activists allege.
Protests by villagers at dumping sites sees spike in burning
Civic officials, while conceding that there is a problem, attribute the spike to protests by villagers against the dumping of Bengaluru’s garbage in their backyard. As a result, plants in Kannahallim, Seegehalli and Doddabidarakallu have been shut down. That leaves only Bellahalli quarry and the MSGP plant near Doddaballapur open.
"Since the protests started, there is no dumping site for a part of the waste. With nowhere to go, contractors — especially catering to bulk generators — seem to be burning it in empty plots of land," said Ramprasad, a solid waste management expert.
BBMP officials agree. Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commissioner, Solid Waste Management, said that the majority of the culprits are contractors who collect waste from bulk generators. "Mahadevapura zone and R.R. Nagar zone are the worst hit by this menace. This is because of the availability of large tracts of empty land, in some cases over a hundred acres where owners have allowed burning of garbage for a price. It’s mostly done at night. Such land parcels have multiple entry and exit points making surveillance impossible," he said.
