Swachh Delhi app: Clean mess but not at cost of air, say experts

NEW DELHI: The Swachh Delhi app may have been launched to make the city cleaner but experts caution that the cleanliness should not be at the cost of worsening Delhi's air quality further. While the app offers Delhiites a platform to file complaints regarding garbage malba collection in their area, there seems to be no strategy in place to deal with the massive amounts of waste other than dumping them in dhalaos or transporting them to landfill sites.

What is worrying is that residents in several areas are setting heaps of waste on fire without waiting for the corporations to clear them. "I saw a huge garbage dump being set on fire near Okhla on Thursday and Friday . There is no monitoring and if no one picks the garbage, people start burning it themselves. Who is supposed to take action against such acts? There are already very toxic emissions from mixed waste, which also has large amounts of plastic," said Vivek Chattopadhyay , programme manager, CSE.

The air quality deteriorated to severe levels in many parts of the city on Friday .Even South Corporation has received similar complaints."We have asked our executive engineers to look into the matter. If it has actually happened, we will challan the peo ple concerned," said a senior SDMC official. The fine ranges from Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000 depending on the scale at which garbage is being burnt.

Earlier in April, NGT had ordered a complete ban on burning garbage. The environment department has received about 600 such complaints in the past few months. In east Delhi, Rs 1,36,400 has been collected as fine for burning waste from April 1 to November 15. In north Delhi, the amount is around Rs 18,800. "Some people uploaded pictures of waste being burnt on the app. There is a dearth of landfill space, so the the strategy should be to reduce and reuse garbage. These things should also kick in, along with the app," added Chattopadhyay .

Environment secretary Ashwani Kumar said, "The only measure we can take is through our WhatsApp number: 9717593574. I request people to be vigilant and send us complaints." But activists said delay in clearing garbage by corporations had prompted people to burn their waste.

A Delhi government official said, "Corporations have the mandate of dealing with waste. The government is facilitating the process. The allegation that corporations are not paid adequately is political. The courts are hearing so many petitions on the issue, they would issued appropriate directions if the allegations were true."