Corpns propose, residents dispose: Why segregation norms irk many

NEW DELHI: Under guidelines notified by the municipal corporations, every gated colony and bulk generators of

waste

will have to either install

compost

plants or develop composting pits. The corporations can help them in this. However, there are no fixed compactors, especially in north and east Delhi, and colony residents and traders wonder how the set-up required for segregating will be developed by the civic bodies given their poor financial health.


Ashutosh Dikshit, CEO of United Residents Joint Action, commended the move but wanted the civic bodies to take lead and coordinate the exercise with the people. “The capital does not have space left to dump

garbage

and if we don’t follow these new rules, it will be too late. People should segregate waste at the household level, and resident welfare associations can help them,” he said, adding, “However, the civic bodies have to play a major role in this.”

The URJA head said segregation would definitely reduce the load on landfills, but pointed out that there would be “practical issues” that only the civic bodies could resolve. “The corporations also need to bring some clarity about bulk generators and create awareness among people,” Dikshit added.

The corporations have failed to improve sanitation in the city and imposing hefty penalties now will not solve the problem, countered Sudha Sinha, general secretary,

Dwarka

Federation of Cooperative Group Housing Societies. “This is not the way to go about it. Yes, we all are in favour of segregation of waste at source, but we cannot process waste,” declared Sinha. “The residents will separate wet and dry and recyclable waste, but the corporation has to either install composting plants or find an alternative way to process the

biodegradable waste

.”

She alleged that the current work in this regard was not up to the mark and the corporations had failed to utilise their funds efficiently for paying the sanitation employees in time. “By introducing big fines, they are trying to force these rules on colony residents,” said Sinha.

BS Vohra, president, East Delhi RWAs Joint Front, similarly demanded composting plants for free in every colony. “The responsibility of the people is to segregate waste, but the authorities cannot expect us to process it,” he said. “If the civic bodies provide composting plants for every colony, then it will be easier for us because we cannot afford to install such plants and process garbage.”

The market associations felt that the corporations should have held a meeting with them before coming out with the public notifications on the requirement. Vijay Kumar, who heads the South Extension Market Association, said the notification was premature. “Forget about creating awareness about segregation, the civic body did not even inform us about the new system. They are unable to provide basic facilities, but only focus on penalising people,” muttered Kumar.

Rajender Sharda of the GK1 Market Association agreed. “Even if shopkeepers segregate the waste, we cannot force customers to do so,” he said. “Are we do our business or sit in front of garbage bins to monitor who throws unsegregated waste?”