NGT Asks BMC To Report On Waste Treatment Plan In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) to file affidavit explaining how it plans to treat waste generated in the city to ensure that there is no accumulation of legacy waste in future.

Sources said an inspection report submitted by the NGT constituted committee has indicated that currently the BMC is managing to collect 510 tonne of the 800 tonne of municipal solid waste being generated every day in the 67 wards in Bhubaneswar.

This apart, legacy waste of 3,405 tonne remains accumulated without being processed with the daily collected waste, the report submitted along with the affidavit filed by State Pollution Control Board on Friday stated.

The NGT’s East Zone bench in Kolkata was hearing the case suo motu registered by it after a resident of Chandrasekharpur area, submitted a complaint on the basis of a news report. The tribunal had constituted a committee for inquiry into the complaint on the stink being raised by a garbage dump managed by BMC at the temporary transit station (TTS) near Sainik School in the state capital.

Taking on record the inspection report, the bench of B Amit Sthalekar (judicial member) and Arun Kumar Verma (expert member) said, “If the daily waste collected is 510 tonne, there would be still shortfall of 290 tonne per day as per the daily generation of 800 tonne of municipal waste which is not accounted for by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation. Question is as to how does the Corporation plan to treat this waste which in future will get accumulated and become legacy waste.”

“The report does not contain any explanation with regard to the remaining 290 metric tonne of untreated municipal solid waste. The daily waste generated is also not expected to remain static at 800 tonne in future and is bound to increase. What is the plan for disposal of anticipated increased municipal waste?” the bench asked.

Accordingly, the bench directed BMC to file an affidavit explaining how it intends to treat not only legacy waste but also fresh waste being generated to ensure that there is no accumulation of legacy waste in future.