Karnataka   

Nirmal Nagar project yet to take off fully

Will Shimoga become a clean city under the ‘Nirmal Nagar project?’ This is the big question confronting the citizens.

The city was brought under the government’s ambitious project and Rs.1.60 crore was provided for it. But the implementation has only been partial because of the delay in securing people’s participation in it, as stipulated under the terms of the project.

The scheme envisages disposal of solid waste after processing it scientifically. The City Municipal Council acquired 21 acres at Anupinakatte on the outskirts of the city for a treatment plant and built the compound wall there.

It entered into an agreement with a Hyderabad-based agency for disposal of solid waste and agreed to pay Rs. 324 a tonne for it. Work on construction of the plant was to begin within three or four months after the agreement was entered into. But the start of the work has been delayed.

Meanwhile, there is opposition from the people of Anupinakatte for setting up the plant. They want it to come up only after the safety measures are ensured.

Under the project, it has been proposed to allot a large container to each municipal ward and hand-driven carts to carry the waste from houses for dumping into the containers.

But the exercise has not been a success yet in all the 35 wards. The plan has been executed only in a few wards such as Sharavathy Nagar, Basavanagudi, Rajendra Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, Siddheshwar Nagar and Malleshwar Nagar.

The remaining wards have not been covered, reportedly because of lack of public participation in it. There are 54 containers and three disposal vans which are yet to be utilised fully.

Eleven tippers had been purchased by the council to dispose of solid waste in the commercial complexes and the main roads and it had been proposed to entrust the work to Stree Shakti Groups.

But this scheme seems to have run into rough weather because of financial reasons. While the council gives a subsidy of Rs.1 lakh towards the purchase of tippers, the remaining sum that has to be paid and the recurring expenditure towards engaging a driver, the fuel cost and vehicle maintenance, besides the loan repayment seem to have evoked a lukewarm response from the Stree Shakti Groups.

The delay in identifying the private agencies for disposal of solid waste has resulted in the newly purchased tippers being parked on the municipal council premises.

Pramod Mellegatti in Shimoga

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