Residents see Red as TMC plans to Stop Trash Collection from big hsg Complexes

17th June, 2018

Thane : The municipal administration’s decision to stop collection of trash from big residential societies from June 15 has drawn the ire of residents and activists who fear it could lead to health hazards.

The move, applicable to residential enclaves occupying an area of 5,000 sq m, will affect nearly 500 complexes in the city. It is estimated that these complexes collectively generate roughly around 300 MT of the daily 650 MT solid waste generated in the lake city.

This decision which was taken at the start of the monsoon has taken residents by surprise as most societies are not ready with their disposal mechanism yet. So, residents fear that there will be health hazards if trash isn’t disposed off systematically. The administration claimed that they had given adequate time to housing society since January to segregate dry and wet waste and dispose it of.

It may be noted that the administration citing a 2016 decision of the ministry of environment and forests had decided to not collect waste from big residential complexes and commercial complexes, asking them to set up their own waste disposal.

“We received a notice from the TMC on Wednesday, informing us that waste collection will be stopped from Friday. How is it possible for a working class population to leave behind their schedules and look after waste management at the last minute? It may lead to a health hazard,” said Milind Gaikwad, activist and secretary of the Samata Nagar society.

A delegation of residents from Edenwoods society in Thane had also met the municipal authorities on Wednesday seeking some more time. They also asked them if some kind of infrastructure can be made to set up the initiative, especially dry waste disposal.

“We have not received any communication from the municipal corporation about stopping the waste collection. Our society has been paying taxes in advance. What is the rationale behind collecting the tax if the administration wants us to do its job. Ours is a very old society with barely any space left for setting up this waste management facility. It will be difficult for us to manage and if they don’t collect it, we will dump our trash in front of their office,” said an irate Shashi Kumar Nair, a resident of Manpada complex. Meanwhile, civic officials said they will be going ahead with their plans and said that they will deploy personnel to check if residents litter in public places. “We will be deploying staff to ensure residents don’t dump their trash in the open. We have given adequate time to residents to comply with the directives,” said Ashok Burpulle, deputy municipal commissioner at the TMC and in-charge of solid waste management.

The move, applicable to residential enclaves occupying an area of 5,000 sq m, will affect nearly 500 complexes in the city. This decision which was taken at the start of the monsoon has taken residents by surprise as most societies are not ready with their disposal mechanism yet

 

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com