From city of gardens to city of garbage

Bengaluru, the fifth largest city of India, has seen an exponential rise in its population in the last 20 years. The city is considered one of the most liveable cities owing to its wonderful climate and the lucrative employment opportunities it offers. However, the civic amenities in the city have gone from bad to worse; turning the once City of Gardens into a City of Garbage

The growth of the city has been exponential in recent years. The city has witnessed unprecedented industrial progress with the establishment of many large, medium and small scale industries and technical and professional institutions of national importance. Bengaluru is one of the most livable cities in India in terms of climate and otherwise. Its challenges are unique because it has grown much faster than any other city in the world. In the last two decades its population has doubled which is unique for any city. Bengaluru is called the garden city of the country. The city boasts of large parks and open spaces in addition to tree lined avenues in almost all parts of the city.

But this city of gardens is rapidly getting the tag of ‘city of garbage’. The city produces 3500 tonnes of waste everyday and it needs to be handled quick and fast. Harish Bijoor, a prominent Bengalurean, sums it up in these words. He says “whenever I go for a walk in Bengaluru, I call it a garbage walk because I just step out and It is one of the posh area called Indira Nagar and in thirty minutes I pick up five garbage black spots. I started my walk and in two minutes I had thirty pictures of the decay of Bengaluru. I simply believe that city has become ‘garbage’luru instead of Bengaluru”.

So what has led to this mess? It is clear that governance has not been upto the mark whether at governmental level or local bodies. Traditional political mindset has also been a big reason. Bengaluru has twenty percent of the population of the state but it has only twenty odd MLAs.

R K Misra of Centre for Smart Cities says “Bengaluru has twenty percent of the total population of Karnataka, it contributes seventy percent of the taxes, it has sixty percent of the GDP of the state but political representation is less than ten percent in the assembly. That is where all our mega cities suffer. Be it Bengaluru or for that matter Mumbai, chief ministers enjoy the economic benefits of the cities but end up spending time energy and money away from the city. They do not realize that cities are the golden goose. You take Bengaluru out of Karnataka and seventy percent of tax and sixty percent of GDP is gone. Common sense would say that the government should focus on making the life of citizens better in Bengaluru. But then it is all about numbers. In democracy ultimately numbers matter”.

But the problem goes beyond that. BBMP, the urban local body is in a deadlock and it is because the traditional dumping ground of garbage is no longer available to them. There is a transportation issue. There is a lot of garbage transported from one place to another and that makes big money for a lot of people. There is money in garbage. These two issues paralyze the urban local body. Where there is money there is a will but in this case there is negativity and lethargy. R K Misra of CSC says “I believe this problem is largely due to contract system. These contractors have completely monopolized the system and almost operate like a mafia. They do not allow anybody else to bid for contracts. They pay the sanitation workers poorly. Government has now run out of option how to deal with these guys. The government is now thinking of going back to the old days and to employ the sanitation workers rather than outsourcing”. Bengaluru outsources eighty to ninety percent of solid waste management workers. Other cities manage it on their own. Ideally when any department is privatized it improves things but in Bengaluru the reverse has happened.

Bengaluru or for that matter Mumbai, chief ministers enjoy the economic benefits of the cities but end up spending time energy and money away from the city. They do not realize that cities are the golden goose

RK Mishra, Founder Director, Center for Smart Cities

Beyond the issue of governance, there is also the question of raising awareness. The issue has got aggravated because less than forty percent of Bengalureans are segregating garbage at source. BBMP official claims that a team has been set up in every locality involving resident welfare association to create awareness but in reality these meetings are rarely held. In order to crack the whip BBMP this year set strict conditions to award the contracts. According to the condition laid down in the tenders, contractors must not collect mixed waste from citizens. But in reality, experts say that even those residents who segregate waste see the workers mixing it right in front of their eyes and then dumping it at some corner or in a landfill. This not only makes the area stink but there is a bigger danger of some serious disease outbreak. Harish Bijoor warns, “We have to ensure that we are sensitive enough to garbage. I think this city will only get up when we have a plague or a very severe phase of dengue where everybody ends up in hospital”.

 

Are resources a problem or is there a lack of will to act? Is it BBMP’s ineptness at dealing with the situation? Bengaluru has a huge tax base and BBMP has a huge budget. But then no amount of money and manpower can alter the situation if agencies do not get the basics right. When the question is put to Bijoor, he says, “The money is there but the infrastructure and will to act is not there. The infrastructure to ensure that we manage the garbage locally does not exist. We have BBMP, we have wards and every ward must manage its garbage. So on paper there are segregating units, there are incinerators but to implement it on the ground level there is no will. There is lot of talking the talk but not walking the talk. This is a human issue. There are not enough feet on the ground.There are lot of minds on paper but not enough feet on the ground.

The infrastructure to ensure that we manage the garbage locally does not exist. BBMP has wards and every ward must manage its garbage. So on paper there are segregating units, there are incinerators but to implement it on the ground level there is no will. There is lot of talking the talk but not walking the talk

Harish Bijoor, Urban Thinker

“The other problem is that citizens are not angry and noisy as they should be, because if you don’t demand you won’t get it. That is the reality of the new society. Government is not going to keep you hunky-dory. People have to demand because they pay taxes. Bengaluru is a high tax collection nerve centre. But people don’t have time for all these. They are busy making money and not interested in these issues” adds Bijoor.

So is this a lost battle? Is there a combined apathy of the government, local bodies and citizens alike? Disagrees R K Misra of CSC. He says that government did not do much in the last three years. But he adds, “Bengaluru is still one of the best and progressive cities where citizens spend a lot of their time, energy and money to make city better and come forward and work with the government. Lot of efforts are on. There are many committees but it has reached a boiling point and now we see a lot of effort on the part of government and others so we will see some result. Citizens are on top of it, working with the government and reminding the government. The worst is behind us and things are looking positive”. There has to be some more potent idea of garbage management in the city. And one hopes that all the stakeholders will put their minds together and show the will to take the stink out of the city and restore its fast losing tag of ‘city of gardens’.