In a landmark decision which comes as a major reprieve for communities residing in and around Mavallipura, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) on Thursday ordered the BBMP and Ramky Infrastructure Private Limited to shut down the SWM Landfill at Mavallipura. Board chairman A.S. Sadashivaiah also directed that the site immediately stop receiving waste.
Enforcing powers under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, Mr Sadashivaiah has instructed the operator Ramky Infrastructure to “process the accumulated waste completely for composting within three months in a scientific manner without causing eyesore to the public and health or environmental hazard”. The authorisation prescribed under Municipal Solid Waste Rules 2000 expired on December 31, 2010. Neither the BBMP nor the operator had applied for renewal, he said.
The unprocessed refuse from the accumulated waste should be transported by BBMP to another landfill at Mandur for scientific disposal, failing which KSPCB has threatened to initiate penal action against BBMP as per provisions of the Environment Protection Act. About 12 villages around the Mavallipura landfill have been affected due to the dumping of waste for the last decade. Since 2007, every day, up to 1,000 tons of solid waste generated in Bengaluru (about a third of the total waste the city generates) is transported to the 48 acre ‘scientific landfill’ operated by Ramky.
The company has failed to comply with any of the norms. Instead, it merely resorted to digging massive pits to dump waste. Toxic leachates were allowed to enter ground water polluting it, says a release issued by Mr Leo Saldanha of Environment Support Group (ESG). Ramky is getting about Rs 300 for every truck of waste that it receives. The company get huge money but it appears that none of this has been invested in the upkeep of the facility and environmental safeguards, he rued. Many villagers have lost their immunity and resistance and have become victims of cancer, renal failure, dengue, and gastro-intestinal disorders due to the resultant pollution. The landfill is also within the Arkavathy river basin, a major drinking water source for Bengaluru.