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Segregated waste collection across Chandigarh in a week
Extending the project to all sectors, MC will be deploying around 450 garbage collection vehicles in the city
Even as teething problems persist after the Chandigarh municipal corporation took over door-to-door garbage collection in Sectors 1 to 30 in December, it plans to kick off the second phase of the project to cover the remaining sectors within a week.
“We have received all the 390 garbage collection vehicles, and will be taking over garbage collection in the rest of the city in a week’s time,” said mayor Ravi Kant Sharma on Sunday.
On December 23 last year, the MC had deployed its 93 garbage collection vehicles in Sectors 1 to 30 to replace informal cart-based waste lifting. The MC has also deployed 99 vehicles for villages and some commercial areas of the city. However, even after a month and a half, residents complain of a plethora of problems with the civic body’s attempt.
Also, the MC had invited informal garbage collectors to register with it and join the vehicles as helpers. However, a section is still opposing the MC takeover and staging protest outside its office for the past more than a month.
Rajesh Kalia, who is a former mayor and chairs the MC sanitation committee, said: “More than 80% garbage collectors have agreed to join MC vehicles. In a couple of days we will even start signing of memorandums of understanding with individual garbage collectors.”
Kalia said the garbage collectors will be share the total number of houses covered by them at present, based upon which the share of user charges collected from residents will be directly deposited into their bank accounts.
All’s not well with MC takeover
While in some areas, the MC has been able to smoothen the operations, residents in most sectors complain that the situation is yet to improve.
Supriya Goyal, treasurer, resident welfare association, Sector 28A, said: “Currently, most people in our locality are giving garbage to cart-driven waste lifters, as the MC vehicle does come, but it has no fixed time.”
In most sectors, residents say MC vehicles and cart-based collectors come to pick the garbage and it is creating confusion as to who should be paid user charges. The MC has issued public notices declaring that it would add user charges in the water bills.
“Whoever comes first takes away the garbage. We don’t know whom to pay the charges. As the informal garbage collectors are working, they can’t be denied their dues,” said Surender Sharma, president, RWA, Sector 15.
Kuldip Singh Gill, president, Bright RWA, Sector 21B, said: “Nowadays, MC vehicles are parked at a central location in the sector. Informal garbage collectors lift the waste from houses and then dump it in the MC vehicle. When the MC is not picking garbage directly from houses, then why should it demand user charges?”
Residents also complain that even though the MC promised garbage collection from houses, particularly on the first and second floor, yet it is not being properly implemented. Working couples and elderly people are at the receiving end.
“The MC is not yet ready to implement the project all over the city. It is struggling to implement it effectively even in Sectors 1 to 30, where the population density is low. With only around 450 vehicles for the entire city, the civic body would struggle,” said Hitesh Puri, chairman, Chandigarh Resident Association Welfare Federation.
The mayor said all the issues of residents and protesting garbage collectors will be resolved soon.
