GHAZIABAD: Mayor Sunita Dayal was appalled by the poor sanitation protocols she found at the Hindon Vihar waste transfer station during a recent inspection. Should the mayor decide to look around before she settles into the task before her, evidence of the city’s slipshod garbage management is everywhere and will throw up plenty more reasons for dismay.
The city’s garbage problem has manifested everywhere. Be it Kamla Nehru Nagar, Govindpuram, Hindon Barrage Road, trans-Hindon areas like Harsha City Mall, Indirapuram’s Kala Pathar Road, Shakti Khand-2, Niti Khand-1 or the GT Road, the problem is same: drains choked with litter, heaps of garbage sitting along roads, plastic strewn across marketplaces and outside malls and waste dumped even on road dividers, like they are in parts of Indirapuram, which realtors sell as an attractive housing market and where rentals have seen a sharp increase after the pandemic.
With the Swachh Survekshan 2023 process underway, the mayor has already warned that Ghaziabad might fall in the rankings. Last year, Ghaziabad secured the 12th spot among big cities.
“Surprise inspections will continue and people responsible for any lapses will be taken to task. I have not even completed a month in the mayor’s office, and frankly, I am investing time and energy in getting a sense of how our waste disposal mechanism works. I have been inspecting every possible nook and corner of the city, and honestly, I am disappointed,” Dayal, who made cleaning the city up her principal campaign pitch as the BJP candidate during the corporation elections, told TOI.
“The other day, while I was out for inspection, we found sludge removed from drains was dumped in the open. I made it a point to call the officials concerned and get that removed in my presence. I think a proactive approach will lead to a difference in the long run,” she added.
Dayal said she has been in touch with all stakeholders — citizens, civic officials and professional organisations—to understand what ails the city’s garbage disposal system. “I have been getting quite constructive feedback, which in due course will be incorporated in my plan of action,” Dayal said.
She conceded that the GMC had a logistical problem because of the lack of a designated landfill in the city and a waste to energy plant. But procedural problems in segregation and collection are also evident.
“I have been told that the Galand waste-to-energy plant, which is crucial to addressing the city’s garbage system, has been delayed inordinately,” she said, adding she would seek the chief minister’s intervention for a resolution.
“As far as GMC’s limitation is concerned, there is no denying that areas like Indirapuram, Govindpuram are administered by GDA, and there is a long-standing issue of handover of these areas, and part of the problem is because of this. It will be wrong to blame the corporation for it, but having said that, it should not be construed that I am passing the buck. Rather, I would say that the buck stops with GMC,” she said.
The city’s garbage problem has manifested everywhere. Be it Kamla Nehru Nagar, Govindpuram, Hindon Barrage Road, trans-Hindon areas like Harsha City Mall, Indirapuram’s Kala Pathar Road, Shakti Khand-2, Niti Khand-1 or the GT Road, the problem is same: drains choked with litter, heaps of garbage sitting along roads, plastic strewn across marketplaces and outside malls and waste dumped even on road dividers, like they are in parts of Indirapuram, which realtors sell as an attractive housing market and where rentals have seen a sharp increase after the pandemic.
With the Swachh Survekshan 2023 process underway, the mayor has already warned that Ghaziabad might fall in the rankings. Last year, Ghaziabad secured the 12th spot among big cities.
“Surprise inspections will continue and people responsible for any lapses will be taken to task. I have not even completed a month in the mayor’s office, and frankly, I am investing time and energy in getting a sense of how our waste disposal mechanism works. I have been inspecting every possible nook and corner of the city, and honestly, I am disappointed,” Dayal, who made cleaning the city up her principal campaign pitch as the BJP candidate during the corporation elections, told TOI.
“The other day, while I was out for inspection, we found sludge removed from drains was dumped in the open. I made it a point to call the officials concerned and get that removed in my presence. I think a proactive approach will lead to a difference in the long run,” she added.
Dayal said she has been in touch with all stakeholders — citizens, civic officials and professional organisations—to understand what ails the city’s garbage disposal system. “I have been getting quite constructive feedback, which in due course will be incorporated in my plan of action,” Dayal said.
She conceded that the GMC had a logistical problem because of the lack of a designated landfill in the city and a waste to energy plant. But procedural problems in segregation and collection are also evident.
“I have been told that the Galand waste-to-energy plant, which is crucial to addressing the city’s garbage system, has been delayed inordinately,” she said, adding she would seek the chief minister’s intervention for a resolution.
“As far as GMC’s limitation is concerned, there is no denying that areas like Indirapuram, Govindpuram are administered by GDA, and there is a long-standing issue of handover of these areas, and part of the problem is because of this. It will be wrong to blame the corporation for it, but having said that, it should not be construed that I am passing the buck. Rather, I would say that the buck stops with GMC,” she said.