The Aryavarth Express
Agency(Bengaluru): In a significant move to tackle the growing waste management challenge, Bengaluru’s municipal body, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), has pinpointed four expansive land parcels on the city’s periphery. These sites are designated to process the substantial daily output of nearly 6,000 metric tonnes of municipal waste generated by the city.
This initiative seeks to transition away from the traditional reliance on landfill sites, where a considerable portion of the city’s waste is currently disposed of. However, the strategy may face critique for not emphasizing smaller-scale, localized processing or composting solutions within wards or at the source of waste generation.
The identified locations include areas in Doddaballapura taluk, Mandur in the east, Bidadi in the west, and Gollahalli on Bannerghatta Road. Notably, Mandur and Doddaballapura had previously served as waste dump sites but were closed in 2014 and 2016, respectively, due to local opposition during Siddaramaiah’s initial term as chief minister. The sites at Gollahalli and Bidadi represent new venues for waste management endeavors.
The BBMP envisions deploying approximately 1,500 tonnes of waste daily to each of these locations, following the establishment of new facilities such as biomethanation plants, processing infrastructure, and a waste-to-energy plant. Special Commissioner Harish Kumar of the BBMP’s solid waste management division has disclosed that the proposal is currently pending government approval.
According to Kumar, the plan involves the creation of specialized facilities at each site to process the waste, with the aim of directing no more than 15% of the city’s total waste output to landfills. This approach is projected to manage Bengaluru’s waste disposal needs for the next 30 years.
Despite these ambitions, some experts critique the plan as a step backward, contradicting the High Court’s endorsement of decentralized waste management strategies. Ajesh Kumar Shankar, a leading advocate for the enforcement of solid waste management rules, stresses the importance of localized processing units and the promotion of onsite composting for wet waste.
The BBMP’s proposal underscores the complex challenges of urban waste management, navigating between the practical difficulties of implementing local processing solutions and the broader goal of sustainable, city-wide waste disposal strategies.