mavallipura

16 traders lose licences for using disposable plastic At a council meeting held in July, BBMP had declared an ultimatum to traders who do not stop using disposable plastic material (cups, plates and spoons). Mayor Sampath Raj had chalked out a week's deadline for the shopkeepers to permanently shift to using eco-friendly materials instead, failing which the licences of establishments would be cancelled. True to their word, the corporation's health department cancelled 16 trading licences of shops in Avenue Road, Bommanahalli and Neelasandra. One and a half tonnes of plastic was recovered through the raids conducted over two days, along with…

Over the past 15 years the population of the city has increased more than 2.5 times, from 4 million to close to 10 million, the per capita garbage generation on an average has doubled, from 0.25kg/capita to 0.50kg/capita, and the composition and fabric of garbage has drastically changed, from about 80% compostable organic waste and a great part of the 20% being recyclable, to less than 60% compostable and a great part of the 40% being rejects, that will have to be landfilled because they are mixed waste. This article has been made possible thanks to support from Aruna Green…

High Court of Karnataka (HC) has ordered all the local planning authorities to sanction layouts development plans only if they earmark a dedicated area for managing their own solid waste generated in their layout and nearby localities. The order came during a hearing of Solid Waste Management (SWM) Public Interest Litigation, when advocate Ajesh Shankar brought to the notice of the HC that a Civic Amenity site allocated for a waste processing facility in a BDA layout at Kengeri-hobli was encroached by some parties. Taking cognizance of this, the HC Bench comprising of Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice N…

The High Court directed Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to reopen the processing unit in Mavallipura, by allowing upto 300 tonnes of pure segregated wet waste to be composted. The two-judge Divisional Bench headed by N Kumar and Nagarathna gave the order in the special hearing that took place in High Court of Karnataka on July 17, 2014. The 40-acre landfill has been leased out to Ramky Infrastructure Pvt.Ltd for 25 years, in which there is a part that has a processing unit. The Judge, N Kumar said that instead of lying unused, this should be used to process pure…

Trucks that don't exist in reality are added to garbage transport database of BBMP by adding random numbers, which sometimes include two-wheelers and buses! Pic: Shree D N First the High Court, then the Chief Minister. Now it is the turn of Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) of Karnataka to point fingers at Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s garbage management. CAG has noted that BBMP has spent more than the amount allotted towards Solid Waste Management expenses; At the same time, BBMP has lost more than 66 crores by not collecting cess in 2008-11 from 18.38 lakh households! In the CAG Report…

Panel discussion organised by CIVIC. Pic: Shree D N If what Minister for Urban Development, Karnataka, Vinay Kumar Sorake promised in a panel discussion held on July 11, 2014 materialises into concrete action, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) corporators cannot continue to rule the roost. Citizens will get more power and say in local matters, in the form of ward committees and area sabhas. The Minister promised to amend the section 13 of Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, to remove veto power over ward committees given to corporators. He also said he would look into amending the section to remove the…

As an immediate remedy for daily wet waste generated in Bengaluru, Additional Chief Secretary of Urban Department of Karnataka (UDD) D Satya Murty submitted to the High Court of Karnataka (HC) on Thursday, June 26, 2014, that portable processing units with the capacity of 50 tonnes will soon be installed in 15 to 20 wards. However, the bench comprising Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice N Kumar observed that processing units in 15 to 20 wards will not be sufficient when Bangalore has 198 wards. Murty submitted to the court that the government is keen on solving the garbage problem…

Nearly 500-600 trucks with trash, operating in the dark of the night, dump their contents in Mandur every day. “After 10 pm, the trucks start pouring in and it goes on till early hours of the morning,” says Munianjaneyappa, 72, a resident of Mandur. Munianjaneyappa walked the entire 25 km of the padayatra from Mandur to Domlur, Bangalore, on Saturday, December 22nd, as part of the Lok Satta-organised 'Dumping SAAKU' campaign. Around 50 people, including residents of Mandur, Lok Satta party supporters - many of them young professionals - and political and social activists took part in the walk. Former…

Early in the morning one may notice people sweeping their front yard, and then accumulating the leaves and other waste on the pavement. Yes the houses are clean, but the roads are a mess because of us. In a society that has high regard for cleanliness, we have yet to understand that cleanliness is not just inside our homes, but on the road as well. Drive down any city road and every corner is littered with massive amounts of garbage. Unsegregated waste just put into plastic bags and chucked on the road. Garbage being piled up. Pic: Mark Rasquinha The…