Surat waste scam : SMC under fire as Khajod dumping expose systemic failure

Surat | Gujarat —- The Surat Municipal Commissioner has taken a tough stance in the ongoing Khajod waste scam in the diamond city of Surat. A hefty fine of Rs 2.50 crore has been imposed on the CD Transport Agency for the illegal dumping and selling of the waste outside the city limits, without processing it, and committing irregularities in weighing the solid waste. 

Sources said that the agency owners were protected by a senior BJP leader, who is also a senior minister in the Gujarat government. After the agency’s scam with the officials was exposed, preparations for major changes have now started in the municipal solid waste system. 

The collusion of not only the private agency but also the municipal officials has come to light in this scam. Show-cause notices have been issued to Rakesh Modi, executive engineer of the Solid Waste Management Department, and Sharad Kaklotar, environment engineer. The action to take punitive action against these officials for negligence in duty and covering up corruption has created panic in the engineering department of the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC). 

ALSO READ : Gujarat : Illegal Dumping of Surat Municipal Waste Puts Tribal Lives at Risk 

Following the complaints by the residents in Kankaria village in Ambika taluka, the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) raided the farm land owned by one Mohammed Rasid Sidat. To the surprise of the GPCB officials, about 5,000 tonnes of solid waste from the Khajod disposal site was recovered from the spot. It is believed that the contractors hired by the SMC for the proper processing of the solid waste on-site at Khajod, are allegedly involved in transporting the hazardous solid waste material,  without processing, and dumping in the private lands in the nearby Amibika taluka. 

According to the Solid Waste Rules 2016 under the Environment Protection Act, such waste cannot be dumped anywhere in the environment or sold because it contains harmful elements, substances that harm human health, spread diseases and non-degradable elements that spoil the environment. In addition, bio-medical waste has also been found in this waste, so this waste has also been found to be infectious, which can cause serious diseases.

The land owner, Sidat told the GPCB that the people who brought this waste were identified as Jagdish Bharwad and Lakhabhai Bharwad. The GPCB had instructed the duo to immediately lift the solid waste from the land owned by Sidat and dump it at the Khajod disposal site owned by the Surat Municipal Corporation.

This matter is very serious because as per the solid waste rules, such waste cannot be sold or dumped privately. Surat Municipal Corporation cannot give such waste to anyone. As per the rules, the SMC is fully responsible for disposing of the solid waste it generates. The contractor works only as per the tender.

MHS Shaikh, president of Brackish Water Research Centre (BWRC) has submitted a written representation to Surat district collector for registering an FIR against the municipal officials, contractors and the middlemen, the land owner at Kankaria village for the illegal dumping of solid waste by violating the solid waste disposal rules.

According to Shaikh, the Surat Municipal Corporation has a solid waste disposal plant at Khajod and has permission to process and recycle waste there and dispose of it. As the process was not done as per the rules, he had filed a case against Surat Municipal Corporation in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in 2014. 

After being disgraced in the garbage scam, the Surat Municipal Corporation has now decided to make the entire system transparent. Now, with the expiry of the term of the old contractors, a re-tender will be issued within two days with new rules and strict conditions. In this new tender, digital monitoring and strict checking will be arranged to keep a close eye on the garbage disposal process, to prevent such scams in the future.