Belagavi waste row escalates as minister Laxmi Hebbalkar sides with protesters

Pic: Turmuri waste disposal unitBelagavi: The long-running agitation seeking the relocation of the Turmuri waste disposal and processing site on Vengurla Road, around 10km from the city, has intensified with the open backing of women and child welfare minister Laxmi Hebbalkar.Addressing protesters recently, Laxmi Hebbalkar adopted a combative stance, urging protesters to hold elected representatives accountable. She even called on agitators to dump waste outside the residences of MPs, MLAs and the Mayor to remind them of their responsibility. Questioning the logic of routing urban waste to rural areas, she cautioned that such a practice would no longer be tolerated and announced her participation in the ongoing protests. She has set April 9 as the deadline for the govt to take a final decision on shifting the facility.Villagers from Turmuri and surrounding areas—including Bachi, Hindalaga, Ambewadi, Mannur, Gojaga, Basurte, Konewadi, Uchgaon and Sulaga—have opposed the site since its inception in 2006. They cite persistent health concerns, foul odour, groundwater contamination and declining agricultural productivity, arguing that rural communities are unfairly burdened with the city's waste.Belagavi generates approximately 250–270 tonnes of waste daily, all of which is transported to the Turmuri facility. However, the plant was originally designed to handle only 100–200 tonnes per day, with inspections indicating that inflow often exceeds permissible limits.Meanwhile, district minister Satish Jarkiholi has directed officials to identify two additional landfill sites—one each in the South and North assembly segments of the city to ease pressure on Turmuri. He has also urged local MLAs Asif Sait and Abhay Patil to cooperate in land identification, stressing that expanding waste infrastructure is essential, given the city's growing population.The Turmuri facility, spread over 26.7 hectares, was initially developed as a landfill in 2006. In 2007, the Belagavi City Corporation (BCC) partnered with Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd to operate and manage the site. Officials maintain that there is currently no proposal to shut or relocate the facility, citing an investment of around Rs 40 crore. Instead, the corporation is exploring additional disposal sites to distribute the load.Parallel push gains groundIn a parallel move, aggrieved farmers have already petitioned the Union ministry of road transport and highways, headed by Nitin Gadkari, which has forwarded the petition to the project implementation unit in Dharwad.The Turmuri site falls along the proposed Ring Road project under the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). As per norms, waste processing units must be located at least 500 metres away from national highways and residential areas, criteria that villagers allege the current site fails to meet.