Patiala, June 30-Solid waste management is one of the biggest problems being faced by the Patiala Municipal Corporation. Even after the Supreme Court ruling in 2000 that all municipal corporations and committees must construct solid waste management plants, the Patiala MC has failed to finalise an appropriate site for the plant.Despite, identifying sites for the plant time and again, they have failed to make any remarkable progress on the project. One can see dumps of garbage even in residential areas and many plots have been turned into dumping grounds. There is no provision to recycle this waste.The SC had instructed the MCs to eradicate solid waste dumps from their areas and to ensure that no waste existed in the residential areas. It had also instructed the MCs to construct solid waste management plants and recycle material like plastic, glass etc. The remaining material should be used for levelling low-lying areas.According to the Act, nodal officers should be appointed in all districts and they should submit their report to the Punjab Pollution Control Board about to the progress on the project, which was then to be submitted to the Central Pollution Control Board. The Punjab Government hired IL and FC agency on one-year contract for the project, but even after 10 years, the position was the same in Patiala.Despite PPCB’s repeated warnings to the MC, it is yet to take an action. There has been no processing of waste. Every year, the MC gives the excuse that it does not have adequate land or is short of money to establish such a plant.Municipal Commissioner MS Narang maintained the MC had identified a few sites, but the land had not been finalised yet. He said, “Earlier, we were supposed to construct a plant for the combined cluster of Sangrur, Barnala and Patiala, but then the site was finalised for Sangrur and Barnala at Kadyal village. Now, we have proposed 2-3 sites and the officials have inspected them. We hope it will be finalised soon.”
© 2010 Punjab Star News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without providing a link back to the original content.