Capital’s roads to be C&D waste free, says AAP
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday announced an ambitious plan to rid the Capital’s streets of construction and demolition (C&D) waste, adding that a two-month pilot project launched by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in east Delhi has resulted in a visible difference on the ground.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, however, alleged that after the AAP came to power in the civic body, 80% of C%D waste processing plants are lying defunct.
C&D littering the streets or dumped on vacant land is a common sight in Delhi, and exacerbates dust and air pollution in the Capital, as well as affecting sanitation standards. MDC officials have earlier blamed the unauthorised dumping of C&D waste on a lack of awareness and civic sense among people.
AAP legislator Durgesh Pathak, the party’s in-charge of MCD, at a press conference said the pilot project in east Delhi was a success.
“We made a list of people who were carrying out construction or demolition works in their buildings in the area. MCD officials reached out to such people and requested them to not throw C&D waste on the streets. We created dumping points for C&D waste on MCD land, where people were asked to dump the C&D waste. MCD trucks ferried the C&D waste from these sites to processing plants. It resulted in the lifting of 132MT C&D waste during the period, as compared to 48MT earlier from the same area,” he said.
Pathak said the C&D waste dumping grounds were regularly sprinkled with water to ensure zero dust pollution.
The AAP legislator said the pilot programme will now be extended to the rest of the city, with MCD identifying 158 places where temporary C&D waste dumping sites will be created.
“Regular sprinkling of water will be done at the sites, which will be under CCTV cover at all times, and regular transportation of C&D waste to processing plants will be done. The move will make the Capital’s streets free of C&D waste,” said Pathak.
Responding to Pathak’s announcement, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said his party, during its rule in MCD, created around 25 C&D waste processing plants in the Capital, but after the AAP came to power, 80% are lying defunct.
