Eyesore Delhi can dream of
zero garbage in 5 years
Go anywhere a little inside, Delhi roads are littered with stinking garbage. But the city has a dream. Will it ever be fulfilled ?
Writes VINOD VARSHNEY
Delhi, the City of Garbage can expect in next five years to become a zero garbage city. Sounds unbelievable to NGOs and Resident Welfare Associations, but municipal officials insist that new generation landfill sites and new model of collecting garbage from each and every home would dramatically change the look of the city.

Even during the electioneering when the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has made best efforts to make city look clean to avoid embarrassment to local leaders who visit colonies to canvass for votes, the most part of this capital city gives a horrible look.

The system of garbage disposal is outright inadequate and inefficient due to lack of political will and incorrect policies, says Suresh Babu, a specialist from Centre for Science and Environment. He says that the city generates approximately 7000 million tons of solid waste every day and just three landfill sites that Delhi has, cannot accommodate this.

Privatization was taboo due to various political interests. Bhagidari system of the government to involve local residents in garbage disposal has not succeeded. People want their city clean but they are helpless.

BHAGDARI SYSTEM ONLY IN HEADLINES

“There is nothing like Bhagidari System in our colony, we only hear about this in newspapers, no body from the government has ever contacted us in this regard”, says T.C. Mitla, President Hauz Khas Welfare Association. He informs that seventy percent household have hired on their own jamadars to take care of the garbage generated in homes and transport it to the litter bins of the colony. A few residents do it themselves. But most of the residents do not segregate the garbage before it is dumped in the bins. There is no awareness among residents about this, asserts Mitla.

Taking cue from this practice of hiring jamadars by households, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has hired a private agency Ramki which starting July will on pilot basis collect garbage from homes in Rohini and Civil Lines, informs K.S. Mehra, the MCD Commissioner. The Ramky would give two different types of boxes, one green and the other blue to each household. Residents would segregate garbage into biodegradable and non-biodegradable before handing them over to the worker.

RECYCLING WASTE IS THE SOLUTION

Mehra says that Ramky’s responsibility would be to transport garbage from homes to the new landfill site, which will be most advanced, with facilities to recycle most of the waste. “A part of the waste would be composted, another part would be used to generate electricity, while some would be used to make bricks to be used in construction. Overall only 25 percent waste would be left out to be dumped in the landfill site. This landfill site would ensure that contamination does not seep into the ground water and no foul smell from the composting.

Another official from the MCD on the request of anonymity said this was yet another grand promise which we keep on announcing. It is only a pilot plan for 18 months and that too would cover just two colonies. According to him to bring entire city into any such scheme may take at least a decade.

However the residents in most parts of the city are desperate. They say the worst part of the garbage disposal system is that it depends on rag-pickers, who are largely migrants, many from the neighboring country Bangladesh. They segregate the garbage in most inhuman conditions before it is carted to the landfill site. Surprisingly this practice has not attracted the attention of any human rights organizations so far.

More surprising is MCD officials’ tacit support to the inhuman system of garbage segregation at the dumps by rag-pickers on the ground that they at least allow most poor people to earn their livelihood, who otherwise might become criminals.

WHETHER TO BURN LEAVES OR COMPOST

Another surprising thing in Delhi’s garbage disposal system is the practice of burning tree leaves, which adds to green house gases in the environment. “We objected repeatedly whenever smoke entered our colony on burning leaves in nearby Park Gulmohar, but no body listened”, complained Mitla.

Surprisingly there was one Mr Goswami, a resident of Mayur Vihar Phase II, emphasized that it was a good practice to burn leaves as it helped get rid of mosquitoes and the ash that was left behind was better manure than what one can get from composting.