A garbage mound in a residential area in Baradwari, Jamshedpur, on Monday. Picture by Bhola Prasad
From now on, hotels, restaurants and housing societies will have to segregate waste and arrange for disposal of bio-degradable refuse on their own with Jamshedpur Notified Area Authority (JNAC) deciding to give them a fortnight's time to comply.
JNAC's directive, issued on Monday, is essentially to implement municipal solid waste management rules-2016 and is directed at entities that generate more than 100kg waste daily. It reinforces the need for segregation of dry and wet waste, besides setting up composting facilities at source.
'We have started issuing notices to hotels, restaurants, housing societies and big apartments. We will hold a workshop on October 16 at Birsa Munda Town Hall in Sidhgora where experts will talk about the nuances of waste segregation and technical specifications of setting up compost units. We will also discuss penalties in case of violations,' said JNAC special officer Sanjay Kumar Pandey.
He said the entities would be given around a fortnight to initiate the measures. 'From November, we will carry out random inspections at various establishments. Violators will be levied fines, the quantum of which will be decided soon. This apart, cases will be lodged with the regional office of Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB),' added Pandey.
JNAC's implementation of the solid waste management rules will also cover Tata Steel command areas that is served by Jusco. This means the swachh drive will cover Bistupur, Sakchi, Kadma, Burmamines, Golmuri, Agrico, Sidhgora and Telco apart from non-company command areas of Birsanagar, Baridih, Sitaramdera and Sonari.
This time, JNAC means business. Pandey said that individuals and organisations arranging parties for more than 100 people would henceforth have to inform the civic body at least three days in advance about the steps taken to manage waste.
According to provisions of the waste management rules, bulk waste generators would have to compost biodegradable refuse (kitchen and food waste, newspapers, leaves, shrubs, egg shells etc) within their premises while non-biodegradable waste would be collected by the civic body.
Hoteliers and builders were yet to receive the directive, but said they were anxious. 'We will attend the workshop. Segregation is not an issue at all. However, we need to understand how to set up compost units as this is new for us,' said Prabhakar Singh, a Bistupur-based hotelier and former secretary of Jamshedpur Hoteliers' Association.
Real estate developer and president of the steel city unit of Builders Association of India Shibu Kumar Burman promised to comply. 'If there is a rule we will have to comply with it provided the civic body cooperates with timely collection of garbage,' he said.
Jamshedpur generates around 300 tonne garbage daily, barring Mango and Jugsalai whose civic authorities have not taken this segregation and compost initiative as yet.
Do you think the two-week deadline is a bit too strict? Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com
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