CM orders DM to search for new place to shift waste management from Sheeshambada

Saturday, 09 April 2022 | PNS | Dehradun

After much controversy around the alleged mismanagement of the solid waste management and recycling plant at Sheeshambada that escalated after the heaps of garbage caught fire finally appears to have been resolved after chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami directed the district magistrate to find a new location to shift the plant. The CM issued this direction during a meeting with the Sahaspur MLA, Dehradun mayor and Sheeshambada residents late on Thursday night.  However many have opined that it will still take some years for the authorities concerned to shift the plant which was already constructed almost a decade after the government planned to establish it in 2008. According to some municipal officials, the plant was constructed with a budget of about Rs 45 crore and only about Rs 15-18 crore was allegedly put by Ramky Enviro Engineers Limited (REEL). Some locals have also opined that it appears that the CM has asked the DM to find a new place to shift the waste management plant only to put off the matter as it will easily take about half a decade to start the plant at a new location. One of the local residents of Sheeshambada, Anil Negi said, “We are glad that the government finally accepted that they need to shift the plant due to the improper management but why no action is being taken against the company responsible for its management? Why are they not being questioned about thousands of tonnes of garbage lying in the plant’s premises? Why did none of the officials concerned care to comment on the incapability of the company to dispose of the garbage as per the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with MCD? One can still see the smoke of the smouldering garbage in the area which is affecting the people as well as the environment and still, nothing is being done against the parties responsible for this menace.” The locals said that the authorities have assured them of improving the condition in the plant and they also hope that the administration soon starts searching for a new place to shift the plant as soon as possible.