The municipal corporation of Dehradun expects improvement in the level of civic sanitation in the provisional State Capital once its waste treatment plant at Sheeshambada starts operating by the end of next month. However, its efforts to implement the High Court ordered polythene ban are yet to yield the desired results to the lack of public involvement, stated municipal officials.
It will be recalled that earlier this year during March, the high court had issued various guidelines to the government authorities regarding solid waste management and prohibition on polythene while hearing on a public interest litigation. Some efforts have been taken by the authorities for improvement of sanitation and implementation of the polythene ban though observers point out that much needs to be achieved towards effective enforcement of sanitation and polythene ban guidelines.
The Dehradun senior municipal health officer, Dr Kailash Gunjyal told The Pioneer, “As per the directives issued by the Uttarakhand High Court we are preparing the solid waste treatment plant in Sheeshambada. The plant is 70 per cent ready and will be operational by July 31 this year.” He further informed that dustbins have been provided in a couple of the 60 municipal wards for segregation of waste. The government is observing the guidelines of the high court and is serious about dealing with the issue of solid waste management, he said.
When asked about the implementation of the ban on polythene, he said that efforts in this direction are affected by the lack of public cooperation in stopping the use of polythene. Dr Gunjyal said, “It is the fundamental duty of every citizen to keep his/her surroundings clean. We have been imposing fine on offenders but the efforts of the state government can be successful only with the participation of the public. It has to be a collective effort of the state government and the public to make the city polythene free.