BBMP moves to act against Ramky group

BBMP Mayor Venkatesh Murthy has committed to initiate criminal action against the operator, Ramky group, for serious violations of contractual obligations, non-compliance with various environmental and social standards, and for contaminating soil and water in Mavallipura and surrounding villages. Yielding to the demands of villagers of Mavallipura, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) on Wednesday accepted the order of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board for cessation of dumping of solid waste at the village.

According to a release from the NGO Environment Support Group (ESG), the mayor conceded that a decade of pollution in this region (caused by the accumulated waste of 4 million tonnes in the Ramky landfill and an earlier one handled by Bailappa) has completely devastated the environment of the region to such an extent that the water has turned toxic and unpotable.

The mayor took the decision after holding a meeting with various corporators, legislators, officials and affected villagers that included local panchayat members.

The mayor also confirmed that he would present to the council the need to compensate those suffering from various chronic illnesses caused by the pollution and to families of eight people who have lost their lives already. In addition to this, he has also conceded that the Waste to Energy project proposed by Ramky at the Mavallipura site will be abandoned.

Local villagers also raised concerns that various fabricated criminal cases have been filed against them for protesting pollution and this was also taken on record. It was finally decided that a joint committee of BBMP and KSPCB officials and representatives of local communities, and the report will be presented to the council for effective action soon.

It may be recalled that the KSPCB had issued a closure order on July 11, 2012, on grounds that Ramky had operated the landfill without any consent from the board and in comprehensive violation of the Environment Protection Act and the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules. The board had directed Ramky to comprehensively clean up about 2.2 million tonnes of waste lying in the 48 acres landfill within three months, but the operator failed to comply with this direction as well. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests have supported this decision of the board in its letter of July 16, 2012.

The management of Ramky group could not be reached for a statement.

Last week, R Ashoka, Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister of Karnataka, pushed reopening of the Ramky landfill by deploying over 600 police to beat back resistance from the villagers. His reasoning was that there was nowhere else to dump the waste. Local communities argued that the city must learn to segregate waste at source and not resort to dumping in villages destroying lives, livelihoods and the environment. In the melee that ensued, 37-year-old Srinivas protesting the reopening of the landfill, died of cardiac arrest. He leaves behind a young family with three small children.

In consideration of this situation, the High Court of Karnataka directed the BBMP in response to a Public Interest Litigation that it must prepare a plan of action in three days to sustainably manage waste without resorting to dumping in villages.

“Such a crisis could have been avoided if the BBMP had comprehensively adopted the standards and norms of the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2000, and the direction of the Supreme Court that the standards contained in the Rules will be implemented by 2003,” ESG said.

To support BBMP out of its present mess, various voluntary organisations working on solid waste management initiatives have come together to formulate simple and pragmatic Guiding Principles to Sustainably manage Bangalore's solid waste based on segregation of waste at source.

These guiding principles will inform actions that can be immediately deployed, which require no major reworking of infrastructure, will save money and also benefit public health and the environment, the press release added.