Rural Belagavi struggles with mounting waste management issues

Caption: The garbage generated in rural areas is being dumped on the sides of roads in the villagesBelagavi: Although the govt has set up Shree Shakti units at the gram panchayat level for rural waste management, garbage disposal remains poor in most villages of Belagavi district. Ineffective implementation has resulted in heaps of uncollected waste, posing sanitation and environmental concerns across rural areas.Under the Swachh Bharat Mission scheme, the central govt implemented a scheme to maintain cleanliness and scientifically dispose of garbage in rural areas through women's self-help groups four years ago. For this, training was provided to the members of 317 self-help groups in Belagavi district. Out of 500 gram panchayats, 198 gram panchayats were provided with grants for garbage disposal. Each gram panchayat was provided with a tipper to transport waste to solid waste disposal units constructed at a cost of Rs 25 lakh to Rs 30 lakh each. But allegations are in force against gram panchayats that they are not allocating funds for door-todoor collection and disposal of garbage. Garbage collection and waste processing are not happening as expected. Due to this, the roads have turned into dumps in many panchayats.The garbage problem has increased, especially in villages under the jurisdiction of the panchayats that connect to the national, state and district main roads that connect the cities and towns. Despite the large population, garbage disposal is not being carried out properly. In a few places, once or twice a month, it is loaded onto tractors or tippers and dumped in a distant lake, canal or govt land. Garbage is being collected regularly in only a handful of panchayats.Most villages have landfills where raw waste is dumped, so waste management is not a big concern. However, not all gram panchayats have the same situation. Environmentalists are saying that people are dumping garbage on the roadside due to the negligence of GPs, which should have made alternative arrangements.To address the garbage problem in rural areas, the govt has set up waste disposal units by implementing plans for scientific disposal of garbage but GPs have failed to make good use of them. While most waste disposal units are closed, they are once again being misused for other activities. Thus, the garbage generated in rural areas is being dumped on both sides of main roads in villages. Locals complain that the garbage is also being thrown into empty plots and in many cases, set on fire.According to ZP officials, out of 500 gram panchayats in Belagavi district, garbage collection and disposal work has been implemented in 198 GPs. Work on disposal units is in progress in 28 gram panchayats. There are 338 trained personnel. In addition, 320 women have been trained to drive garbage collection vehicles. However, without a separate grant for salaries, the staff are not being paid properly. Therefore, members of women's self-help groups are reluctant to take up garbage disposal work.ZP CEO Rahul Shinde stated that emphasis will soon be placed on scientific garbage collection in all the GPs in the district. Steps have been taken for scientific garbage disposal.