Minister for Ecology and Environment Sogadu Shivanna said on Saturday that the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) should have looked for alternatives like segregating garbage and utilising waste for power production, before disallowing dumping of garbage in designated yards.
He told Deccan Herald that instead of finding a solution, KSPCB took certain extreme decisions like issuing notice for the closure of the dumping yards.
“A judge writes a death sentence only after hearing the arguments. Similarly, KSPCB should have worked towards a solution before closing the dumping yards,” he said. The Minister, under whose jurisdiction the Board functions, said the lorry contractors’ mafia was so strong that no change could be effected.
“I have visited the dumping yards and interacted with the villagers. They said Corporators, MLAs and ministers were hand-in-glove with the mafia because BBMP was spending Rs 400 crore on transportation of garbage in lorries. Politicians of all parties are part of the mafia.
Except late minister B Basavalingappa, who held the environment portfolio, none has any knowledge or concern for the environment. This is the reason why no one is looking for solutions like installing a power plant to convert waste into energy or segregate garbage to use it as compost,” he said.
He said he had told BBMP Commissioner H S Shankarlinge Gowda to install plants for segregation of waste and also power generation, rather than expecting others to do it. The situation in other parts of the State was no different, Shivanna said. By spending just Rs 10 to 12 crore, a power plant or compost unit could be set up, he said.