Whenever the issue of garbage piling on the streets and in residential areas comes up, the BBMP’s ready answer is that six new processing units are on the anvil. The first of these units — at Lingadheeranahalli in Banashankari VI Stage — was inaugurated during the run-up to the civic polls, but has run into legal troubles. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has stayed operations and questioned the Environment Clearance (EC) to the processing unit.
With this, the BBMP’s grand plans of setting up waste processing units have begun unravelling. The five other units — with a combined capacity of 1,600 tonnes per day — too are facing intense protests by residents of nearby villages.
The Lingadheeranahalli unit has a capacity to process 200 tonnes of wet waste per day. It has been in the eye of a storm since inception, as it is surrounded by BDA layouts, two villages and Turahalli forest.
Hearing an appeal filed by Jayaram Gouda, a site owner in Banashankari VI stage, NGT Southern Zone, Chennai, in its order dated August 17, notes that the EC provided by State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Karnataka had not taken all environmental aspects into consideration and stayed the operation of the unit till further orders. The next hearing is on September 15.
It is important to note that Karnataka State Pollution Control Board had also denied clearance for the unit in August 2014 citing proximity of residential layouts and the reserve forest.
Amidst heavy police protection, BBMP had started sending nearly 300 tonnes of un-segregated waste to the unit daily in the past 15 days. This came to a halt after the NGT order.
BBMP Administrator T.M. Vijay Bhaskar told The Hindu that the Lingadheeranahalli plant is crucial to Solid Waste Management in the city. “We are employing a good advocate and are working hard to get the stay vacated at the earliest,” he said.
The five other units too are facing intense protests by residents of nearby villages
