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McLeodganj’s natural, pristine beauty being scarred

People carrying out construction activities in Dharamsala area are scarring the hills with muck of dismantled buildings.

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Lalit Mohan

People carrying out construction activities in Dharamsala area are scarring the hills with muck of dismantled buildings. Many new constructions are coming up in the tourist places of McLeodganj and Bhagsunag area. 

A survey in the area revealed that those carrying out constructions are filling the muck generated in cement bags. 

The bags are carried in trucks on the 2-km road stretch between McLeodganj and Bhagsunag and dumped along the hill sides between deodar trees. The miscreants spreading muck in the area, when asked, said they have been directed by the contractors to dump the material there. The muck that generally comprises cement and brick waste is killing the tree undergrowth in the area.

The experts are of the view that construction waste has a tendency to settle down permanently. 

If it settles down permanently, fresh undergrowth in the forest area cannot survive. It would also scar the natural beauty of the area and damage the ecology of the area.

As per the rules, it is the duty of the local municipal council and district administration to stop the spread of solid waste in the area. A solid waste dumping site has also been established in Dharamsala as per the Supreme Court directions. As per the directions, the solid waste generated out of the construction of building should be used as filler in low-lying areas, where construction is to take place.

However, to make it practical, a proper management is required. For this, the authorities concerned have to keep a check on the ongoing constructions and solid waste muck being generated out of these. People carrying out construction activities should be forced to deposit muck at places marked for the purpose.

The muck can then be used by the government departments as PWD during the construction of roads or filler in basements of buildings. Interestingly, inquiries from various departments have revealed that despite the fact that muck was being deposited along the hills in large quantities, no one had been booked by the competent authorities for the offence.

The authorities concerned say they have not received any complaint in the matter. It is also surprising that the authorities are waiting for complaints from the common people to act in the matter.

Naresh, an environmentalist, said the common people would file complaint in case solid waste is dumped in their area. 

They cannot be expected to take animosity with construction contractors for the sake of government. The owner of forest area is Forest Department or the government. The authorities concerned should take suo moto notice of solid waste being dumped on the government land to protect the forest.

However, it has been generally found that in case of illegal constructions also, the town and country planning authorities limit themselves to issuing notice to offenders to save their skin in case of inquires. No action is taken practically to stop the practice.

With more and more constructions coming up in Dharamsala region, the problem of proper disposal of construction waste is becoming a grave threat to the environment.

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