National Green Tribunal concern over air pollution and shoddy waste management in Assam

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The NGT (National Green Tribunal) has asked the Assam Government to make a roadmap to tackle air pollution and the problem of solid waste management in the state, besides submitting the action taken report (ATR).

According to sources, the NGT said that it is the constitutional responsibility of states and local bodies to provide a pollution-free environment. It needs the execution of good management at the earliest, simultaneously in all districts, towns, and villages in a time-bound manner. The district authorities need to monitor it regularly.

According to sources, Assam produces 752 metric tonnes of unprocessed waste per day, apart from the 33 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste. Apart from this, the state produces 435 million litres of liquid waste per day. However, the state has no plant for waste management. Only one plant is under construction in the Dibrugarh district.

According to sources, most of the local bodies continue to use this age-old practice for the storage of waste in the state. They simply dump waste near roads and in open spaces. The garbage collection process in the state is also shoddy. The collectors leave around 30 percent of waste at the collecting points.

E-waste is also becoming a threat to the state. The majority of people throw away e-waste or sell it to some kabadiwallas (waste aggregators) who sell it to dumps. E-waste is either burnt or dumped casually, which results in a significant risk of toxic exposures to people’s health and the environment. The state has no plant for recycling e-waste. Some parties collect e-waste and send it to Kolkata and other states for recycling.

According to an NGO for bringing awareness on e-waste, they have collected 3,000 kg e-waste from door to door. While some people give such waste free of cost, some others say that they get some money by selling them to kabadiwallas.

Meanwhile, the State Government assured the NGT that it has earmarked around Rs 1,000 crore for solid waste management. It said the work was in progress. The State Government has also assured NGT that it will submit the progress report every six months.

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