<p>The High Court on Friday warned the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) that the Palike Council would be superseded if politicians and corporators continue to interfere in the disposal of garbage.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Hearing a batch of petitions seeking directions from the court to clear the garbage piled up in the City, the Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice B V Nagarathna lashed out at the Palike for its inaction. <br /><br />Warning the bulk waste generators of action, the court directed the State government and BBMP to file fresh status reports on waste disposal. The Bench also suggested that instead of the BBMP collecting cess from the bulk generators, the latter be asked to dispose the waste generated by them on their own. “You inform them about it and then if they fail to manage, we will issue sealing orders,” the Bench said.<br /><br />Palike Commissioner Rajneesh Goel submitted before the court that fresh tenders had been floated for clearing garbage and that the problem will be solved by November 15. <br /><br />The chief justice retorted: “You have been crying wolf. You come here and get an order, but still every citizen is in trouble. All national televisions are telecasting Bangalore’s garbage problem. If it is depicted in the national media, the entire world will pick it up.”<br />On the defensive, the commissioner contended that the amount of garbage had increased due to the two festivals – Ayudha Pooja and Bakrid.<br /><br />He assured the court that the problem would be addressed by Diwali. “Instead of dirtying the whole City, the garbage was stored in Freedom Park and some other places until the problem is resolved,” he said.<br /><br />Garbage, from Page 1<br />In an affidavit filed before the High Court, the BBMP zonal joint commissioners submitted that there has been no uncleared garbage lying for more than 24 hours in their respective zones.<br />Ajesh, counsel for one of the petitioners, attributed the entire problem of garbage accumulation in the City to the “ill-treatment” meted out to pourakarmikas. He said the problem could be resolved if NGOs are involved in registering ragpickers and and pourakarmikas are treated better. He contended that though some NGOs are ready to work with BBMP, the latter had shown no interest.<br /><br />When the chief justice sought the reason for this disinterest, G R Mohan, another counsel, replied that the corporators interfered in the process. “If the politicians and councillors are interfering in the disposal of garbage, we will have to think of superceding the council. We will not allow people to fiddle with (the process),” the court said.<br /><br />The commissioner drew the court’s attention to the garbage problem faced by bulk generators and contended that the hotels, community halls, malls and apartments needed a direction. <br /><br />The court observed: “Don’t be polite with anybody. It is the duty of commercial generators to manage their waste,” the Bench said. However, when the petitioners brought to the notice of the Bench that the BBMP collects garbage cess and the private players question why they should manage when they are paying cess, the Bench suggested the BBMP not to collect cess and direct them to manage their garbage by themselves.<br /><br />The commissioner then informed the court that though the cess collected was just Rs 30 crore, the BBMP is spending nearly Rs 250 crore to dispose the City’s garbage.<br /><br />The petitioners submitted that the garbage tenders were exorbitant, and despite that there is no clearance. They also talked about the protests at Mandur, Mavallipura and other places. The commissioner refuted the allegations and said that new tenders had reduced by about Rs 200 crore. The court then said: “We are not asking to save money, save the City.”<br /><br />Citizens’ movement needed: Premji<br /><br />Information Technology tycoon Azim Premji says the garbage problem had reached a point, where a strong citizens’ movement is called for. <br /><br />“Garbage often gets dumped in rivers (and other water bodies), which also serve as drinking water sources for residents of Bangalore,” he said at a press meet where the second quarter results of his company, Wipro, were announced.</p>
<p>The High Court on Friday warned the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) that the Palike Council would be superseded if politicians and corporators continue to interfere in the disposal of garbage.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Hearing a batch of petitions seeking directions from the court to clear the garbage piled up in the City, the Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice B V Nagarathna lashed out at the Palike for its inaction. <br /><br />Warning the bulk waste generators of action, the court directed the State government and BBMP to file fresh status reports on waste disposal. The Bench also suggested that instead of the BBMP collecting cess from the bulk generators, the latter be asked to dispose the waste generated by them on their own. “You inform them about it and then if they fail to manage, we will issue sealing orders,” the Bench said.<br /><br />Palike Commissioner Rajneesh Goel submitted before the court that fresh tenders had been floated for clearing garbage and that the problem will be solved by November 15. <br /><br />The chief justice retorted: “You have been crying wolf. You come here and get an order, but still every citizen is in trouble. All national televisions are telecasting Bangalore’s garbage problem. If it is depicted in the national media, the entire world will pick it up.”<br />On the defensive, the commissioner contended that the amount of garbage had increased due to the two festivals – Ayudha Pooja and Bakrid.<br /><br />He assured the court that the problem would be addressed by Diwali. “Instead of dirtying the whole City, the garbage was stored in Freedom Park and some other places until the problem is resolved,” he said.<br /><br />Garbage, from Page 1<br />In an affidavit filed before the High Court, the BBMP zonal joint commissioners submitted that there has been no uncleared garbage lying for more than 24 hours in their respective zones.<br />Ajesh, counsel for one of the petitioners, attributed the entire problem of garbage accumulation in the City to the “ill-treatment” meted out to pourakarmikas. He said the problem could be resolved if NGOs are involved in registering ragpickers and and pourakarmikas are treated better. He contended that though some NGOs are ready to work with BBMP, the latter had shown no interest.<br /><br />When the chief justice sought the reason for this disinterest, G R Mohan, another counsel, replied that the corporators interfered in the process. “If the politicians and councillors are interfering in the disposal of garbage, we will have to think of superceding the council. We will not allow people to fiddle with (the process),” the court said.<br /><br />The commissioner drew the court’s attention to the garbage problem faced by bulk generators and contended that the hotels, community halls, malls and apartments needed a direction. <br /><br />The court observed: “Don’t be polite with anybody. It is the duty of commercial generators to manage their waste,” the Bench said. However, when the petitioners brought to the notice of the Bench that the BBMP collects garbage cess and the private players question why they should manage when they are paying cess, the Bench suggested the BBMP not to collect cess and direct them to manage their garbage by themselves.<br /><br />The commissioner then informed the court that though the cess collected was just Rs 30 crore, the BBMP is spending nearly Rs 250 crore to dispose the City’s garbage.<br /><br />The petitioners submitted that the garbage tenders were exorbitant, and despite that there is no clearance. They also talked about the protests at Mandur, Mavallipura and other places. The commissioner refuted the allegations and said that new tenders had reduced by about Rs 200 crore. The court then said: “We are not asking to save money, save the City.”<br /><br />Citizens’ movement needed: Premji<br /><br />Information Technology tycoon Azim Premji says the garbage problem had reached a point, where a strong citizens’ movement is called for. <br /><br />“Garbage often gets dumped in rivers (and other water bodies), which also serve as drinking water sources for residents of Bangalore,” he said at a press meet where the second quarter results of his company, Wipro, were announced.</p>