C&D waste management plant yet to see light of day

Tribune News Service

Harshraj Singh

Ludhiana, June 10

Despite the directions given by a panel of National Green Tribunal (NGT), the Municipal Corporation (MC) has failed to fulfil its responsibility of managing the construction and demolition waste in the city to date. The NGT had instructed the MC in May 2021 to ensure management of construction waste within three months. However, the MC has failed to setup its construction & demolition (C&D) waste management plant.

Earlier, the civil work of the C&D waste management plant project was planned to be carried out as part of the smart city mission. However, the officials later opted to transfer the civil work to another mission focused on solid waste management. Despite this change, the mechanical work of the C&D waste management plant, estimated to cost Rs 2.2 crore, was scheduled to be finished by June 30 under the Smart City Mission. However, it appears that the deadline is to be missed once again as the civil work has not been commenced. The machines are supposed to be installed only after completion of the civil works. Notably, the project site had earlier contained garbage and the MC then got soil testing process done there to revise the plan and estimates for civil works.

Satinderpal Singh, a resident of the city, said the issue of construction waste being dumped along the roads or in vacant plots in various areas remains unresolved. He emphasised that the MC needs to address this significant problem urgently, as numerous buildings are often demolished without any provision for proper waste disposal. Despite repeated demands from residents, the construction waste from some sites along the Buddha Nullah was yet to be removed.

Satish Thaman, a former member of the Ludhiana West Sub-division grievances redressal committee, said there is urgent requirement for establishing a facility to handle construction waste within the city. He stressed that it is unacceptable to dispose of such waste on roadsides or vacant plots. Thaman urged the Municipal Corporation (MC) to treat the matter with utmost seriousness and ensure the implementation of necessary measures.

According to an executive engineer from MC, the estimate for the civil work has been revised after garbage was found dumped below the designated project site. Once the necessary approvals are obtained from the government, the civil work will begin.

Act swiftly

The issue of construction waste being dumped along the roads or in vacant plots in various areas remains unresolved. The MC needs to address this problem urgently as buildings are often razed without any provision for proper disposal of waste. — Satinderpal Singh, a resident

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