MANGALURU: In the wake of a recent high court direction, the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) prepares an action plan to implement a waste segregation mandatory in all the 60 wards of the city.
At a special meeting of corporators and officials held on Tuesday, Mayor Diwakar said an effective coordination between corporators and officials is necessary to implement the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules 2016. Commissioner Akshay Sridhar said the SWM will be easier only if citizens join hands with the city corporation by segregating waste at source.
MCC environment engineer Madhu Manohar said the Karnataka High Court has considered the issue of solid waste management in the city very seriously while hearing a writ petition filed by Karnataka Legal Services Authority. The authority had filed a petition in connection with the garbage sliding tragedy at the landfill site of MCC that destroyed 27 houses and agricultural land in August 2019. The High Court has directed the city corporation to implement the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 effectively. Accordingly, waste generators and the city corporation have their own responsibilities especially with regard to the segregation of waste, he said.
“We need to achieve a 100% target in the door to door waste collection in the city. Similarly, we also need to ensure that only segregated waste reaches the dump yard. All large-scale waste generators should set up waste management units in their premises. Meanwhile, all residents should segregate waste at source. The waste collection vehicles in the city will collect wet waste on all days (except Fridays) and dry waste will be collected only on Fridays. Separate vehicles will be sent to collect both dry and wet waste on all days from fishing ports, restaurants and other commercial premises,” he said.
Corporator Praveen Chandra Alva suggested the city corporation should introduce a QR Code system for waste collection in all wards. “Sanitary inspectors of the health department in MCC should conduct door to door visits to create awareness on waste segregation,” he added.