Directing the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to make all the seven waste processing plants operational within a month, the Karnataka High Court on Friday issued a series of directions for ensuring effective functioning of these plants while making joint commissioners (JCs) of BBMP’s seven zones accountable for ensuring safety and operation of the plants.
A division bench comprising Justice B.S. Patil and Justice B.V. Nagarathna issued the directions during the hearing of petitions related to the city’s garbage problems.
Interestingly, the BBMP itself requested the court to issue the directions while pointing out that the seven plants were not functioning to full capacity for various factors though the plants were commissioned and functioning since October 2005.
The bench said that the zonal JCs shall be in charge of the plant, and they should have full responsibility for security and functioning, to ensure optimum operation by monitoring each and every aspect of the plant. They will have to report to the Joint Commissioner [Health & Solid Waste Management (SWM)].
Asking the JCs to visit plants in their jurisdiction once a week, the bench said that they will have to ensure the zonal superintendent engineers visit the plant twice a week, and submit a weekly report.
The JCs have also been directed to hold a monthly coordination meeting involving the plant’s operators, the plant’s managers, local people, people’s representatives and the police to ensure safety, security and smooth operation of the plants.
Leachate treatment
The bench also directed the JCs to make arrangements to dispose inert materials in landfills in a scientific manner as per the SWM Rules, 2016 besides ensuring that leachate treatment facility is available in the plant. The JCs were directed to take steps to ensure no person, other than authorised ones, are allowed to enter the plants without their written permission.
The bench said the JCs will have to make sure that standard operating procedure (SOP) is adhered to in operating the plants while directing the JC (Heath and SWM) to ensure compliance of the SOP through a third-party audit. The JC (Health & SWM) should secure reports from the third-party auditor, preferably a government agency, and act on the outcome of the audit report.
Constitute technical committee
The bench directed the State government to constitute a Technical Guidance Committee comprising experts from the Indian Institute of Sciences and the Indian Institute of Horticulture Research. A representative of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and two members from the BBMP’s expert committee on SWM will also be members of the committee, which would advise the BBMP on operation of the plants, technology to start bio-methanisation and composting facilities in the wards.
Directions to State, accounts officials, KSCPB, and police
* BBMP’s chief accounts officer and the zonal assistant controller of finance to release funds to run plants efficiently
* KSPCB to provide necessary clearances in two weeks as per law to start plants and facilitate disposal of refuse-derived fuel from these plants to cement plants in the State
* Police heads of Bengaluru city and Ramanagaram district to provide security to plants, staff, vehicles transporting waste
* KSPCB to take action to declare buffer zone around seven plants, and State government to notify them as per the laws
* BBMP to provide services of marshalls to guard the plants and to monitor plants through electronic surveillance
‘Post environmental engineers to manage plants’
The Karnataka High Court on Friday directed the State government and the BBMP to withdraw the services of engineers in various ranks having specialisation in environmental / chemical engineering from the BBMP’s other departments and post them as managers of waste processing units.
The court issued the direction after it was pointed out on behalf of the BBMP that these engineers were recruited for specifically utilising their specialised skills, but all of them are now working in ‘unconnected’ departments like town planning, traffic engineering cell, road widening and infrastructure, and stormwater drains.
To a query from the court, the BBMP counsel said that engineers having specialisation in environmental / chemical engineering were assigned to ‘unconnected’ departments due recommendations / influence from elected representatives, including councillors.
