New Delhi: Bengaluru’s garbage crisis has been piling up for many years now. But, it is recently when the civic body – the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has started rolling out some measures to manage the mess. In a first, the civic body has finally prepared guidelines and norms for waste management in the city in a form of a manual. This will not only help create awareness about garbage problems plaguing the city, but also set out standard operating procedures and management starting from the micro level. The manual has been formed by the BBMP head office along with the members of Solid Waste Management Round Table.
Highlighting the details about the manual, Sandya Narayanan, member of the Solid Waste Management Round Table, said,
The manual has all the guidelines, norms, acts, council decisions, discussions and directions on waste management which have been taken over the past year. And it has been simply compiled in one docket in mere 10 days. By rolling this manual out, we hope to PUT a holistic system in place when it comes to talking ABOUT garbage in the city. The manual has rules for Solid Waste Management and its disposal alongwith the duties and responsibilities of both the committee members and citizens.
She further added,
The manual is divided into three parts; the first part will tell you all about Solid Waste Management and will list out all the directions, acts and decisions taken by the court for handling waste in the city. Whereas the second part is divided into two sub-sections, one section lists out the data for the wards with each and every detail like how many vehicular are allotted, houses in the respective ward, the dry waste collection unit, how much it can handle, etc. Basically, it will guide the ward committee on the things they have with them. While, the second sub-section is an action plan which will guide the ward or a committee a plan they need to follow in order to manage their waste effectively.
The manual has already been given to BBMP councilors and ward members with a direction from High Court that all the 198 ward committees need to call out monthly meetings in which they will have to submit a report on the steps taken by them in one month. This is being done to track the progress of the things highlighted in the manual which is as a norm needs to be implemented in each and every ward of Bengaluru.
Highlights From The Manual
In the manual there are also rules about e-waste and construction waste produced in the city. It also recommends guidelines for the citizens – from how to manage leaf waste to e-waste, animal waste, cow dung cleaning, festival and plastic disposal, the manual has everything.
According to the BBMP, the manual will soon be rolled out on their official website and it can be access by everyone.
A senior official from the BBMP said,
This is the first time something like this is happening. With this manual, accountability and system for handling waste in the city will be in place. Even the citizens through this will know how to manage waste better and how they can reach out to the BBMP if anything is not happening as per the guidelines.
Mr Narayanan adds,
In Bengaluru there are no landfills and instances of garbage being dumped at vacant sites, lake beds and wetlands is on rise. In order to monitor that, this time BBMP has come out with a detailed plan.
Not just the manual, the civic body has also decided to install more than 2,500 CCTV cameras in all the 198 wards in order to monitor reckless dumping of waste.
Now, the need of the hour is citizen engagement. To fulfill the dream of Swachh Bengaluru, it is important for both the civic body and the citizens to work together.
