What a mess
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Sarvadaman Oberoi
Jan 4, 2009, 11:14:49 PM1/4/09
to illegal-ga...@googlegroups.com
What a mess
CAG report says no system for disposal of waste, warns it's a health hazard Chetan Chauhan New Delhi January 4 HT Delhi 05 January 2009 Page 9 WITH JUST 33 per cent of country's urban municipal waste being treated scientifically, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has painted a grim picture of India's urban waste management, while terming it a possible cause for a major health hazard in the future. Urban India generates 48 million metric tones of waste annually, i.e. 0.4 kg per capita, but less than half of the municipal bodies have the capacity to handle the waste safely, a CAG reported tabled in Parliament recently said. Its impact, the CAG found, was visible in deterioration of the underground water resources near landfills. The water samples lifted from areas near landfills in Delhi, Punjab and Chennai were highly contaminated because of improper management of the sites. "Similar situation could be existing in other states where waste was not being treated scientifically," the report said.
Near Bhalaswa open landfill site in Delhi, where thousands of people live, the groundwater's dissolved solids and hardness content was 800 per cent and 633 per cent, respectively, more than the desirable limits, thereby making water unfit for human consumption. Similar was the situation near Okhla open landfill site. "The underground water of both the landfill sites has been critically contaminated with leachate generated from the sites," the report said. Groundwater samples from handpumps in Amritsar in Punjab and Pallikaranai in Tamil Nadu were also highly contaminated. CAG, which conducted audit at the central and state government levels on waste management, was shocked to find that most municipal bodies didn't have any projections about future generation of urban waste and plans to handle them. "Even the environment ministry had no
data on waste generated and future projections," the report said, asking the ministry to come up with a separate policy on management of waste. CAG also found that funds allocated for waste management in Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were diverted. che...@hindustantimes.com
FINDINGS *Urban waste was regularly collected in only 22 per cent of municipal bodies in 24 states where the audit was conducted. *Only 11 per cent of municipal bodies had the capability to process waste. *33 per cent of municipal bodies had not conducted study on the adverse health impact and improper management of municipal waste. RECOMMENDATIONS
*The environment ministry should come up with a policy to reduce and reuse household waste. *It should encourage use of environment friendly commodities. *A comprehensive law for all kinds of wastes-electronic, construction, urban and medical waste-should be framed and the polluter should be made to pay. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Regards. Sarvadaman Oberoi Tower 1 Flat 1102, The Uniworld Garden, Sohna Road, Gurgaon 122018 Haryana INDIA Mobile: +919818768349 Tele: +911244227522 Website: http://www.freewebs.com/homeopathy249/ email: mob...@yahoo.co.uk |
Harish Capoor
Jan 5, 2009, 12:28:32 AM1/5/09
to Sarvadaman Oberoi, Illegal Garbage, manmee...@justice.com
Sarvadamanji,
We deeply appreciate your vigilance and bringing to notice the terrible state of affairs in respect of municipal waste in the whole country. Very possible that the situation with respect to bio-medical waste and disposal of other hazardous waste is eqully grim! I am sure you can comment on it.
Improvement in the situation will come only when proper action is taken. How and what action civil society can take to push for this is something we need to identify and take necessary action. Otherwise, it only remains a piece of knowledge. Can we put our heads together on this? While a 'landfill' project has been taken up for Gurgaon and Faridabad, should it not be checked that it is the best and in line with the best international practices. Otherwise, we may not be much better off.
|
dev chopra
Jan 5, 2009, 1:28:49 AM1/5/09
to illegal-ga...@googlegroups.com
Dear Sarvadamanji et al:
Bharat that is India in the course of the past 60 years never did prepare itself to deal with URBAN India.
Common, household waste is one aspect, of course. The other is the massive factory waste available with the 'kabbaris' all over.
The most hazardous waste remains the one generated by India's small and big hospitals & Nursing Homes, literally, in every State or Union Territories concerned, starting with our own neighborhoods as such.
Whose baby is that?
The States try to do their half-hearted bit while the Centre does their 30-50% and then looks away! That indeed is the story not just in our Bharat but all over South Asia! Twenty years ago or so Lady Hardinge and Irwin had started to re-do things in this area in a better way.
I wonder how it goes now and with what kinds of budgets!
Its not for nothing that Faridabad for half a century and Gurgaon--a quarter century, are going around the woods till Bandhwari will eventually come to our rescue...if at all.
It is a subject and an issue that ought to be taken up by the concerned Department or the Ministry in a more scientific and a professional way.
Till that comes to pass, civil society must go blue in the face and have the subject taken up in a more scientific way by the one's whose job it is in the FIRST place.
Can our President of the Republic take up the issue in a more cogent, a more serious and a professional way by raising it with each State, U.T. and each Corporation in the country?
May be then some importance will be given to the issue of environment, health and our future generations that will follow us in a more efficient and a healthy way.
Otherwise these will remain nice little essays, seek reports of information to what have you, before we move on to another planet!
Incidentally, 2 of us have returned from a school-house in our vicinity who have over night put up two speed-breakers that are meant to break both the vehicles and the necks of the scooter or motor-cycle wallahs, nothing to say of the three-wheeler wallahs. The Principal very kindly agreed to dismantle the same; put in two new ones by doing these more scientifically and by those who know what task a speed-breaker is supposed to perform. (And, she agreed to my acid remark as to how come the school thought of this 10 years AFTER it has been in operation?!)
Better late than never...applies as much to the subject you have inititaed, Sir.
Dev Chopra
--- On Mon, 5/1/09, Sarvadaman Oberoi <mob...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> From: Sarvadaman Oberoi <mob...@yahoo.co.uk>
> Subject: {Illegal Garbage Dump} What a mess
> To: illegal-ga...@googlegroups.com
Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/
Bharat that is India in the course of the past 60 years never did prepare itself to deal with URBAN India.
Common, household waste is one aspect, of course. The other is the massive factory waste available with the 'kabbaris' all over.
The most hazardous waste remains the one generated by India's small and big hospitals & Nursing Homes, literally, in every State or Union Territories concerned, starting with our own neighborhoods as such.
Whose baby is that?
The States try to do their half-hearted bit while the Centre does their 30-50% and then looks away! That indeed is the story not just in our Bharat but all over South Asia! Twenty years ago or so Lady Hardinge and Irwin had started to re-do things in this area in a better way.
I wonder how it goes now and with what kinds of budgets!
Its not for nothing that Faridabad for half a century and Gurgaon--a quarter century, are going around the woods till Bandhwari will eventually come to our rescue...if at all.
It is a subject and an issue that ought to be taken up by the concerned Department or the Ministry in a more scientific and a professional way.
Till that comes to pass, civil society must go blue in the face and have the subject taken up in a more scientific way by the one's whose job it is in the FIRST place.
Can our President of the Republic take up the issue in a more cogent, a more serious and a professional way by raising it with each State, U.T. and each Corporation in the country?
May be then some importance will be given to the issue of environment, health and our future generations that will follow us in a more efficient and a healthy way.
Otherwise these will remain nice little essays, seek reports of information to what have you, before we move on to another planet!
Incidentally, 2 of us have returned from a school-house in our vicinity who have over night put up two speed-breakers that are meant to break both the vehicles and the necks of the scooter or motor-cycle wallahs, nothing to say of the three-wheeler wallahs. The Principal very kindly agreed to dismantle the same; put in two new ones by doing these more scientifically and by those who know what task a speed-breaker is supposed to perform. (And, she agreed to my acid remark as to how come the school thought of this 10 years AFTER it has been in operation?!)
Better late than never...applies as much to the subject you have inititaed, Sir.
Dev Chopra
--- On Mon, 5/1/09, Sarvadaman Oberoi <mob...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> From: Sarvadaman Oberoi <mob...@yahoo.co.uk>
> Subject: {Illegal Garbage Dump} What a mess
> To: illegal-ga...@googlegroups.com
dev chopra
Jan 5, 2009, 2:29:24 AM1/5/09
to illegal-ga...@googlegroups.com
Harish ji and Friends:
I have responded with a small piece on the subject in view of the write up "WHAT A MESS" from Sri Chetan Chauhan writing in the HT of the 5 th Dec (page9...and quoted by our own Sarvadaman ji on this forum).
Between us, we can deal with the subject literally in a "pussy-footing" way! And it will be left after some noises, after a ferw days or weeks.
It calls for the Central Ministerial level to get on to the task that he/she must initiate where the Centre is concerned and then with the States/UTs/Corporations and the States to follow some policy IF it exists.
And then to have it audited and monitored, periodically, by the systems that exist in India.
Civil Society must make a co-ordinated noise with the aim to get some system operating on the ground.
Otherwise, like SECURITY (after Mumbai et al) everything appears in our land of over a Billion, a major task! You and I cannot do anything at all!
Peace and best regards-- dev chopra.
***
--- On Mon, 5/1/09, Harish Capoor <h_ca...@yahoo.com> wrote:
I have responded with a small piece on the subject in view of the write up "WHAT A MESS" from Sri Chetan Chauhan writing in the HT of the 5 th Dec (page9...and quoted by our own Sarvadaman ji on this forum).
Between us, we can deal with the subject literally in a "pussy-footing" way! And it will be left after some noises, after a ferw days or weeks.
It calls for the Central Ministerial level to get on to the task that he/she must initiate where the Centre is concerned and then with the States/UTs/Corporations and the States to follow some policy IF it exists.
And then to have it audited and monitored, periodically, by the systems that exist in India.
Civil Society must make a co-ordinated noise with the aim to get some system operating on the ground.
Otherwise, like SECURITY (after Mumbai et al) everything appears in our land of over a Billion, a major task! You and I cannot do anything at all!
Peace and best regards-- dev chopra.
***
--- On Mon, 5/1/09, Harish Capoor <h_ca...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Harish Capoor
Jan 7, 2009, 2:36:30 AM1/7/09
to mob...@yahoo.co.uk, illegal-ga...@googlegroups.com
I am surprised to learn that CAG Report states that 33% of Municipal Waste is treated scientifically!
That is indeed very good news, if true. The model can be replicated for the rest of 67%. What is the major problem there. Surely, funding is not. |
From: Sarvadaman Oberoi <mob...@yahoo.co.uk> |
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