Kalimpong, May 6: A residents’ committee here has invoked the Right to Information Act to ask the municipality and the subdivisional administration to explain the delay in shifting the town’s dumping yard from Lower Bhalukhop to the new site at Lower Newargaon.

The authorities had promised on October 5 last year to get the work done in six months. The residents believe that the current dump-yard had contributed to the landslides in Lower Bhalukhop in September 2007. Afterwards, they had prevented municipality vehicles from dumping wastes at the site.

The agitation was withdrawn after the new site, located outside the municipal area, was identified and the authorities set a six-month deadline on themselves for shifting the dumping yard.

“The six months have come and gone, but there are no signs of the new dump-yard,” said Bishnu Chhetri, the coordinator of the Bhalukhop Disaster Management Committee, which submitted the RTI application yesterday. Chhetri hinted that depending on the official response, the committee might restart its agitation.

Kalimpong subdivisional officer P.T. Sherpa said the matter primarily concerned the municipality. “The approach road to the new site at Lower Newargaon is under construction and once that is done, the dump-yard will be developed. The funds for the project is available with the municipality. Hopefully, the shifting should take place before the monsoon,” he added.

In the absence of municipality chairman C. K. Kumai of the GNLF, who has not been attending office because of the current political turmoil in the hills, it was not possible to get any response from the civic body as no one was willing to go on record.

In September, landslides caused extensive damage to houses and agricultural land in Lower Bhalukhop. Seven families were rendered homeless, 27 houses were damaged and six-seven acres of farmland was washed away.

Praful Rao, the convener of Save the Hills, an NGO, said the Bhalukhop area was vulnerable to landslides. “Given the large-scale human settlement, the area could witness a catastrophe if more landslides occur there,” he said.