DMC hopeful of govt support for waste management

March 31, 2023 27 Views No Comment

Morung Express News
Dimapur | March 31

On Monday, March 27, the Financial Budget for the year 2023-24 was presented by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio who also holds the Finance portfolio. In it a total of Rs 23,085.66 crore was estimated to be incurred as expenditures for the entire state.

As per the official budget speech uploaded on the website of the Finance Department, the Municipal Affairs department has been provided Rs 230 lakh for procurement of urban sanitization machinery. However, there was no specific budget allocation for the needs of the Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) who have been caught in a public litigation since last year.

On February 3, a hearing was conducted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on a petition filed by Sunrise Colony Council, which accused the DMC of dumping solid and other wastes at the designated dumping site in complete violation of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. It was alleged that plastic, rubber and other toxic materials were being burnt openly leading to toxic smell in the air.

Furthermore, approximately 1, 04,620 Metric Tonnes (MT) of legacy waste was still present at the DMC dumpsite. Due to which the NGT had issued several directives to be followed including acquiring and relocating to a new dump site within a period of one year and carrying out proper bio-mining of the legacy and fresh waste.

Manpai Phom, DMC Administrator stated that although they were unaware as to why no specific provision was mentioned for setting up of a waste management plant, he was hopeful that the government will provide the required assistance regardless.

“A project proposal for setting up of a treatment plant has been submitted to the state government based on our local requirements,” he said.

Phom admitted that the court case also weighed heavy on them needing to find an acceptable solution for all concerned at the earliest.

The other requisite actions which needed to be taken for the DMC were to implement strict enforcement of waste segregation from source; prepare an Action Plan for waste management; continue the bioremediation process; creation of green belt and buffer zone; to expedite the bio-mining process; construct linear drainage inside the periphery of the dumpsite to protect the water and soil among others.

As for setting up of the waste management plant, the administrator estimated that it will cost around Rs 5 crore for one unit.

With the repeal of the Nagaland Municipal Act 2001 by the state government and the subsequent nullifying of the Municipal elections, the DMC continues to function without an elected body to oversee the state of affairs.