Ludhiana: Solid waste management is going to be a tough task for the civic body in the coming days as the A2Z waste management company, which handles garbage lifting from secondary garbage collection dumps to be taken to the main dump and then process the solid waste, has served a notice to the civic body that they want to leave this work. Various deadlines have been fixed for solid waste management by the National Green Tribunal committee members and in the next two months the Swachhta Survekshan will also take place.
Now, it will be seen how the MC will be able to tackle the garbage lifting and then its processing at the plant. The company has given 45 days to the civic body and February 4 is the last day of the notice. The company has reasoned that the MC was delaying their payment and since June they did not get money. But sources revealed that even the company was unable to undertake the waste processing at the plant properly and fearing action from the Punjab Pollution Control Board and NGT committee, this decision had been taken.
The sources also revealed that even officials wanted to get rid of this firm as there were several complaints about garbage lifting and processing.
Requesting anonymity, one of the officials claimed that A2Z waste management company was supposed to do door-to-door garbage lifting as well, along with lifting from secondary collection points. There are 54 secondary points for garbage collection. But they could cover only 35% of the area under door to door collection. He said the company was getting around Rs 325 per tonne for garbage lifting, whereas now the rate was a minimum of Rs 1,200 per tonne. So, in case the MC officials will try to hire another firm, the cost will increase. He said there was shortage of staff in the civic body and it would become a tough task to get things done at their level.
MC commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal said, “The company has served the notice and we are looking for making arrangements. We will see how we can arrange things as per law.”
Recently, the PPCB had refused to give consent to the firm for RDF plant as the firm was not following all norms. However, after the intervention of the mayor and commissioner, the PPCB gave consent to the firm, but the PPCB officials had again showed dissatisfaction over the functioning of the plant. Moreover, the firm was not doing complete processing of garbage at the dump as they were unable to get price for energy, which they were producing through refuse-derived fuel (RDF).
The A2Z group had started waste management in 2011 and agreement with the firm was signed for 25 years. The firm was supposed to handle door to door garbage collection as well, but it could not handle the same. The interference of informal sector and involvement of MC unions made it even tougher for the firm to undertake the task. Whenever they tried doing it, they had to face stiff resentment.