Smoke, sewage & silence: Residents of Hinjewadi in Pune beset by garbage dumping

Pune: Less than 500m from the towering Blue Ridge Township in Hinjewadi, a blue signboard set up by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) on the busy Maan Road cautions in Marathi: "Do not dump garbage or debris here. If you do so, action will be taken as per the law."Behind this very sign, as if mocking the diktat, lies a sprawling, illegal dump — mounds of household waste, hotel garbage and construction debris piled high on an open plot.
Over 12,000 residents of the township's 4,800-odd flats, who have long waited for anyone — from politician to pollution control board — to act in the matter, are now fed up of the persistent apathy. In the last year alone, residents said they have written over 60 emails to various authorities for action. However, aside from empty promises and passing the buck, not a single scrap of waste has been removed. Now, residents rue that they have been left to tackle the ensuing land, air and water pollution on their own, sans any institutional support. Free-for-all of dumping Retired govt officer Akash Bokade said his post-retirement life has turned into a mission to secure basic needs — fresh water and air — for their township. "Every night till dawn, trucks arrive from near and far filled with waste and debris to dump on the plot. We contacted the landowner, who said he has given no such permission. Now, people have also started releasing sewage water into the nullah that runs through the plot and joins the Mula river. Blue Ridge gets its drinking and other water from the river. A project for a water pipeline is pending with the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), but till that materialises, this is our only water source," the 63-year-old resident said. Recently, residents even approached senior police inspector Balaji Pandhare of Hinjewadi police station, who sent a patrolling van to the spot on one night last week. "But the miscreants may have caught wind of it. There was no dumping that day. How can we always have police there? The authorities responsible are PMRDA, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and the gram panchayats of Hinjewadi and Maan. But apart from some MPCB staff visiting the site earlier, nothing has happened," added Bokade. Open spaces in the area were used for dumping waste earlier, too, said 55-year-old AI advisor Anirudha Karandikar, who has lived in this society for three years. However, exponential construction activity in Hinjewadi and surrounding villages, without a sufficient monitoring framework, has led to an alarming rise, he said, adding, "In the last year, all you see on the land is construction debris. There are mounds on mounds of cement and other detritus." Karandikar said the area has turned into a lawless dumping ground, with no authority willing to monitor it or take charge, as multiple agencies shamelessly abdicate responsibility. "The entire area stinks. All the waste gets into the Mula river, making the water quality so bad that even after multiple treatment processes, its quality remains poor. It deteriorates further in summer. The amount of money spent on all this by our society is enormous, not to mention the health costs," he added. Waste woes in IT hub Today, Hinjewadi boasts some of the region's most diverse and high-quality food and beverage establishments, fuelled by a cosmopolitan workforce that has arrived here for employment from across the country and world. But the mushrooming of eateries in the area without mechanisms to manage waste is a problem, said residents. Resident Narayan Ner, a former IT engineer, said the amount of food waste and the way it is thrown on the plot clearly indicates it is from a commercial establishment. "The gram panchayats claim they have sewage treatment and solid waste management plants. But when we ask them to open these for inspection, they refuse. Why do so if all is in order? MPCB must check. Also, riverbeds must be protected from construction debris as waste in such eco-sensitive zones will destroy them beyond repair, while polluting river water," said the 58-year-old real estate consultant. According to 47-year-old Vijay Patil, a director at a data science company, private parties are contracted to take away solid waste from highrises and establishments in Hinjewadi and peripheral areas. "While they are expected to dispose of this trash as per the law, many just burn it on open plots to save money. With everything from plastic to rubber to metal burning together with organic waste, the stench is sometimes so strong that we are awakened from sleep at night. Breathing this toxic smoke daily not only erodes our quality of life but also shortens it. Imagine children and elderly people living like this just because the administration couldn't be bothered to act against polluters," said the resident.Passing the buck When contacted by TOI, MPCB sub-regional officer Navnath Awatade said, "We have received the complaint and written to the Hinjewadi gram panchayat to take action in the matter. We will also send two of our staff to visit the spot this week." However, Hinjewadi gram panchayat sarpanch Ganesh Jambhulkar countered, "These are private properties of farmers. When we ask them to not allow debris dumping, they say they can do whatever they want with their land. Still, we went to the spot last weekend, contacted the farmers and asked them not to allow garbage or debris dumping on their plots. Trash from Hinjewadi gram panchayat is not dumped anywhere as we have given a contract to a private party to dispose of it properly in their plant outside the city. But Blue Ridge Township falls near the boundary of Maan panchayat, so some material is coming from there. We spoke to our counterparts at Maan to look into it. Lastly, PMRDA is responsible for checking the area under its limits, not just for giving licenses. They should check which STP is working, where construction debris is being dumped, etc." Similarly, Madan Shelar, village development officer of Maan gram panchayat, said they have no responsibility in the matter as they only look after village areas under Maan — areas near the townships are the responsibility of PMRDA. "When they built these skyscrapers, they didn't take our permission. It was taken from PMRDA, which means it is the latter's responsibility to check what is happening to waste generated by the society, not ours. The same is the case with checking if STPs are working. Lastly, if MPCB thinks garbage is being dumped and burned or untreated sewage water drained into the river through nullahs, they must act against the guilty. Let them file a case, not write to us. We have replied asking them to take action if something is wrong," he said.Official SaysI will have to check if the land on which dumping is happening is owned by PMRDA or is private property. Depending on this, action will be taken. I have just been informed about the issue on Tuesday. Once our officials check the spot, we will also make a note of the kind of waste dumped here in additional to construction waste and speak to residents to understand the whole picture. When we have all the details, appropriate action will be taken —Avinash Patil | Director, Town Planning, PMRDA______________________________The Legal ViolationsSewage Waste Management Rules of 2016 prohibit:-Open dumping -Burning waste -Mixing without segregation When PMRDA grants permissions, it specifies waste disposal requirements. Many builders are ignoring these & using cheap local contractors to illegally dump waste_________Broken Promises Blue Ridge was marketed as an ‘award-winning township' for ‘world citizens' with pristine air, clean river water, self-sufficient infrastructure (WTP, fire brigade, golf course etc.) and broad, well-maintained roads Reality today | One by one, these amenities are vanishing — partly due to untranslated promises, mostly due to poor enforcement, neglect of basic civic services