The failure of the District Administration to provide a patch of land has led to dumping of huge amount of garbage at several places under the Angul Municipality, resulting in serious health hazards in the town.
The National Green Tribunal, in a case recently filed by lawyer Rabindra Prasad Pattanaik , has directed the Angul district Collector and other officials to take appropriate steps in accordance with the Municipal Solid Waste ( Management and Handling ) Rules and submit an action taken report.
As per the MSW Rule 5(2), the District Magistrate shall have the overall responsibility for the enforcement of the provisions of MSW Rules. Here the Collector, Angul, while miserably failed to discharge his responsibility for the enforcement of the provisions of MSW rules on solid waste management, he also overlooked an order of the National Green Tribunal on March 15 last, told lawyer Pattanaik, adding the lapses have caused serious health hazards in Angul municipal area.
Recently, the District Administration had engaged about 20 platoons of police force to facilitate land acquisition for a private company. There are lots of infamous stories of police action for acquisition of land for private industries in Angul district. But the same promptness is missing in the District Administration as far as providing a land for a dumping site is concerned.
Some people with vested interest are opposing the proposed dumping site, even in a Government land, said sources. The result is, now all the municipal wastes and garbage are dumped and even burned at several residential area of Amalapada, Tamrit Colony, Similipada, Bazar and Bus Stand area. Ironically, the municipality area itself has turned a dumping site.
On the contrary, the Regional Office of the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB), which is within the area of Angul Municipality, has not taken any action on it. Although the OSPCB makes tall claims of monitoring reuse and disposal of industrial waste, 23 million tonne of waste is lying undisposed in the State. Environment and Forests Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh recently admitted in the Assembly that of the total 43 million tone waste generated last year, only 20 million tonne has been reused or disposed of. Recently, India's apex pollution watchdog Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reported that 41 tier-II cities in the country, including Angul, are facing severe air and water pollution. Angul - Talcher is third in the list.
Angul Municipality has no sewage treatment system. The municipal waste contaminates the water sources.
The Government has sanctioned Rs 42 lakh for dumping yard three years ago.