Battling with civic issues has became a routine affair for Ghaziabad's upscale and showpiece residential colonies such as Indirapuram, Kaushambi, Vaishali and Vasundhara. Their biggest problem is non-disposal of household garbage.
According to residents, the two civic agencies —Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) and Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC) —- have failed to develop a landfill site to dump household garbage.
The result: heaps of garbage along roads that lead to some plush apartment complexes and residential blocks of Indirapuram, Kaushambi, Vaishali, Vasundhara, Surya Nagar, Ramprastha, Rajendra Nagar and other colonies.
"It has ruined the environment of our colony. Garbage can be seen dumped everywhere. There are no dustbins and absolutely no arrangement for garbage collection, said Kuldeep Saxena, an officer-bearer of the Confederation of Indirapuram Residents Welfare Associations.
According to an estimate, about five lakh of Ghaziabad city's 20-lakh population live in these colonies next to the Delhi border. These people moved from Delhi over the past few years anticipating bigger houses and better amenities.
While they might have got bigger and better houses at affordable rates, civic amenities leave a lot to be desired.
{{/usCountry}}While they might have got bigger and better houses at affordable rates, civic amenities leave a lot to be desired.
{{/usCountry}}Ghaziabad produces about 600 metric tonnes of garbage every day. Though civic agencies claim a large part of this garbage is disposed of near Vijay Nagar just off the National Highway 24, a quick round of residential colonies tell a different story altogether.
Many residential societies hire private garbage collectors. "We have hired collectors who collect garbage every second or third day from each house and dump it wherever they find space. But garbage keeps lying in those open areas for days together," said Sushil Batra, a resident of Surya Nagar.
"Every morning, I have to bear the stench while going to office, " says Barnali Das, a resident of Vaishali Sector 5.
While GDA claims it has constructed concrete platform collection points and where it plans to keep garbage bins in areas that it maintains, the municipal corporation does not seem to have made any effort to improve garbage disposal.
The civic agencies have failed to develop a landfill site near Dundahera village along the NH24 due to legal hurdles.
"We are in the process of handing over around 27 acres of SWM land site at Galand to the MCG. Once the SWM plants come up, problems can be tackled effectively," GDA vice-chairman Narendra Chaudhary said.
MCG commissioner Basant Lal could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.