HDK gives thumbs down to plan to shift Bengaluru’s waste outside city

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru / Ramanagara: Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister DK Shivakumar’s idea to shift the city’s garbage to elsewhere in the capital’s Urban and Rural districts, besides Ramanagara has met with stiff opposition from JD(S) legislature party leader HD Kumaraswamy.

Notably, both Vokkaliga heavyweights have ties to Ramanagara district where their constituencies are located. Kumaraswamy was referring to Shivakumar’s direction to the Deputy Commissioners of the three districts on October 10 to locate 100 acres of land each for the purpose of creating landfills and waste processing plants.

One of the locations is said to be in Bidadi taluk in Ramanagara district. There is already great distaste for landfills and waste processing plants among people in these districts.

“What will happen to the people there if 1,630 tonnes of garbage is thrown there every day?” Kumaraswamy asked, specifying Mandur village in Bengaluru Urban district, Yeshwantpur locality in the city and Doddaballapur taluk in Bengaluru Rural district.

He added that the garbage dumping would ruin the environment, especially water bodies, agricultural and horticultural produce in Bidadi taluk. “If the Congress government doesn’t reverse this decision, then people will take to the streets,” Kumaraswamy warned.

Solid Waste Management (SWM) experts have also not been enthusiastic about the proposed move, holding that it would be better to have garbage processing plants in every ward instead.