GHMC struggles with garbage woes

HYDERABAD: The proposal of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation for developing sanitary landfill and dumpsites for dumping of garbage outside the city limits, has hit a roadblock due to intervention of elected representatives.Presently, the civic body is finding it difficult to dispose of 3,800 to 4,000 metric tonnes of garbage generated daily as existing dumping yard at Jawaharnagar is nearly filled.Though the GHMC through the state government is making efforts to get alienated government lands sanctioned to corporation to establish sanitary landfill and dump sites but they have not been able to do so due to opposition from local elected representatives and people.Last year, the government issued orders to alienate government land to the extent of 723 acres in Malkapur village at Choutuppal mandal in Nalgonda district for establishment of a dumping yard.It also provided ex-gratia to people affected by the process. However, GHMC officials said local politicians are opposing the move to hand-over the land to GHMC and the matter still hangs in the balance.Other areas include 511 acres in Chillapur village of Nalgonda, Lakdaram village in Patancheru (30 acres), Munidevunipalli in Kondapur (20 acres), Sangareddy (33 acres) in Medak, Dundigal in Rangareddy (100 acres) and 300 acres in Mahboobnagar district. But all these lands are yet to be handed over to the GHMC. GHMC is ready to pay the amount for land as requested by the respective district administrations.The decision to construct sanitary landfill and dumpsites on the outskirts was taken since no suitable lands are available in the vicinity of the city, officials added.Measures to check inundation during rainsNew GHMC commissioner MT Krishna Babu has instructed all deputy municipal commissioners to prepare a contingency plan to tackle inundation in their respective circles based on the experiences during the monsoon season in of last two to three years.Reviewing the action plan on monsoon and communicable diseases with zonal commissioners, deputy municipal commissioners, superintendent engineers and AMOHs, the commissioner instructed them to ensure 100 per cent manhole covers.He asked them to take up temporary measures to improve vent where needed so as the rainwater recedes quickly. He also asked the IT officials to prepare a proposal to open a page for reporting epidemic cases in the GHMC website and take up awareness campaigns on the precautions to be taken against seasonal diseases during monsoon.