Shillong: Concerned over the dumping of garbage at the Marten dumping ground in Mawlai in Meghalaya‘s East Khasi Hills by trucks from other districts, Seng Samla Mawlai Pyllun (SSMP) met urban affairs minister Sniawbhalang Dhar to apprise him of the issue.
The dumping ground at Marten in Mawlai is the biggest such facility in state capital Shillong.
Following their meeting with Dhar, Samran Syiem, general secretary of SSMP, a youth organisation, said that they highlighted the problems faced by the residents of Mawlai over the dumping ground, especially with regards to bio-medical waste being dumped at the site.
Syiem pointed out how a garbage truck from Jaintia Hills district had come all the way to East Khasi Hills to dump garbage at Marten in Mawlai.
“This is an unpleasant development which causes frustration to people of Mawlai. This has also left many unanswered questions with regards to mismanagement by the government,” said Syiem.
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On June 30, SSMP carried out a field inspection of Marten and noticed many shortcomings at the waste management plant.
According to Syiem, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in 2019 had imposed a fine Rs 8,60,000 to Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board for failure to fulfill the criteria laid down by the tribunal.
Even after the hefty fine, the pollution control board is still operating without any improvement and still failing at all aspects or criteria laid down by the Bio-medical Waste Management Rules, 2016, he alleged.
Meanwhile, following the meeting with SSMP, minister Dhar has assured to inspect both the biomedical waste and solid waste management plants at Mawlai.
“I have promised that I will make an inspection of the plant as requested by the Seng Samla sometime next week,” said Dhar.
Following a request made by the SSMP to set up a new landfill site at the earliest, the minister said that the government is working on identifying a new location for the facility.
