The municipal solid waste treatment facility in Mavallipura here does not have the requisite approvals from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) to operate.
Among a list of anomalies and irregularities listed by KSPCB in its report that was prepared after a site inspection by its regional office on June 22, is the fact that despite repeated notices, the facility — the operation of which is outsourced by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike to Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd. — is yet to reapply for consent. Despite repeated reminders to the BBMP, it has failed to apply for consent, chairman of the KSPCB A.S. Sadashivaiah told The Hindu .
The inspection report, accessed by The Hindu , notes that the discharge of leachate from the facility is without the consent of the board. The analysis report of the leachate indicates that the treated leachate does not meet the standards stipulated by the board or the various environment protection laws. It notes that the leachate treatment plant was not functional, even partly damaged (sheets for the digester units are torn).
Senior KSPCB officials said that several analysis reports on groundwater in the area have indicated a high presence of nitrates, though this figure was not a consistent observation (across all the samples the board took over the years). However, the officials pointed out that several lakes and water bodies in the area have been severely polluted. The KSPCB inspection found that untreated leachate was found “overflowing into storm-water drains and also remained stagnant in open land.”
The report recommends that action be initiated against the civic authority under Air (Prevention and Control of pollution) Act and Environment Protection Act.
Mr. Sadashivaiah listed a series of show-cause notices that have been issued to the BBMP on this matter since 2010, when residents first started complaining about this facility.
‘Dumpyard only’
The report states that the entire facility “has been functioning as a dumpyard only”. “Un-segregated and untreated solid waste was dumped directly in the landfill,” it notes. The inspection report states that the equipment kept for segregation of waste, plastic and other lighter waste was not functioning.
“Not even once during recent the three visits by the board were these equipment found functioning. Platform provided for wind rows is full of wastes. The wind rows in the compost yard are not scientifically maintained and the waste is found to be dumped. No charring operation was noticed,” the report stated. It added that the composting unit was under operation. However, very small quantities of waste were found to be processed here.
Technical issues
The report accuses Ramky of poor housekeeping. It raises several technical objections. For instance, the inspection found that though the plant provided five solar evaporation ponds, they are not scientific — related to the depth, and are filled with leachate effluents.
The board’s recommendation to set up an Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Unit has been ignored, Mr. Sadashivaiah said. “We have repeatedly asked the BBMP to have a site office there. But all our recommendations have been ignored. The capacity of the plant is supposed to be 500 tonnes, and it receives 750 tonnes per day. But the plant is only able to process 250 tonnes,” he explained.
While the report is enough to issue another notice, Mr. Sadashivaiah says that show-cause notices and proposals to come up with time-bound action plans are being ignored. The “root cause” of this issue, he says, is that the BBMP has not managed to get enough land for the facility. “While 100 acres had been earmarked for this facility, this is set up on 45 acres. The rest of the land is under litigation, but it is the BBMP's responsibility to ensure that the commitment is upheld,” he said.
