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Swachh Survekshan: Ludhiana MC on its toes ahead of inspection
Failing tocarry out proper waste management contractor in Ludhiana, the MC is now on its toes ahead of the third-party inspection under Swachh Survekshan 2022
Failing to appoint a solid waste management contractor in the city for over a year, the municipal corporation (MC) is now on its toes ahead of the third party inspection under Swachh Survekshan 2022.
MC commissioner Pardep Sabharwal conducted a meeting with the staff at Zone A office on Monday, during which directions were issued to take up cleanliness drives across the city, repair the pot-holed roads, clean public toilets, encourage segregation of waste among other points.
Speaking on the same, Sabharwal said, “The process to appoint the contractor is going on and there are a number of technical things which have to be checked, so that a competent contractor is hired to deal with solid waste in the city.”
The third party is expected to reach the city for physical inspection under survekshan this week. The MC has remained nonchalant despite the city dropping five spots to be ranked 39 out of 48 cities across the country under the survey last year.
MC‘s failures
With the city staring at failure on such fronts as solid waste management, including waste segregation and processing, the ranking of the city under the national competition is likely to further dip this year.
The civic body has even failed to appoint a solid waste contractor in the city after the A2Z company self-terminated the contract in the month of February last year. The contractor has to be appointed for transportation and processing of waste generated in the city.
Over 1,100 metric tonnes of garbage is generated in the city on a daily basis and around 20 lakh metric tonnes of garbage (legacy waste) has accumulated at the dump site (landfill) in the last many years. Despite tall claims made by authorities in the past, nothing has been done at the ground level.
Open secondary garbage dumps at different parts of the city are an eyesore resulting in unhygienic conditions in the surrounding areas.
The civic body’s much-hyped project to install static compactors across the city to stop open dumping of waste is yet to see the light of the day. The Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) has installed the compactors at over half a dozen sites, but garbage is still dumped in the open at over three dozen secondary dump sites in the city.
Authorities claim that segregation of waste is being done in 50% areas, but it is negligible on the ground.
The civic body has also failed to establish construction and demolition (C and D) waste plant. In absence of the plant, waste is dumped in open spaces and green belts across the city, which also adds to pollution.
Speaking about some last-ditch efforts to salvage the situation, Sabharwal said, “Officials have been directed to maintain cleanliness in the city and awareness should also be created among residents regarding waste segregation. All efforts are being made to improve the rank of the city.”
