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Sunday Dec 22, 2024
Wednesday, 6 February 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Many people are talking about waste management. So much so it has become only a subject of talk shows! The City of Colombo is the prime focus and the centrepiece. It is seen as a debate that has been continuing for decades under different mayors as well as ministers in charge of environment representing various political parties. 
To our great dismay there is no tangible solution to this national problem in sight. Instead it has become the mausoleum of the swindlers and those bargaining for making the best out of garbage. Proposals and visionary statements made one after the other have vaporised leaving no residue but only the garbage for our consumption. Those new players who come to the arena from time to time appear to get submerged in the same ongoing prostitution before even settling down in their esteemed positions. As a result the people have to live with garbage around!
History of garbage handling and the sordid affairs connected to the subject are so scandalous and disgusting but we are compelled to talk about these overcoming a great repugnance in the public interest. Recently there was murmur and muttering in the circles of the Colombo Municipal Councillors about a handsome hand-out that was being doled out by a garbage contractor among a few selected leading personalities. It was also indicated by those involved in the gossip that this has been a perennial phenomenon and the chosen beneficiaries eagerly await the opportunity on account of certain abstruse services rendered by them to the contractors.
However incomprehensible such services are, it is not difficult for anyone to logically conclude that such ex-gratia payments obviously come from the rate payers’ base. Ironically many whom I met talking about the incident were expressing their dissatisfaction for not being considered in the package! What a world? True nevertheless!
President Maithripala Sirisena appointed a one-man commission following the greatest tragedy we witnessed in the recent history of this country on the eve of the 2016 Sinhala and Hindu new-year day due to the Meethotamulla garbage dump devastation. Several startling revelations have been made by the Commissioner Dr. Chandradasa Nanayakkara, retired Appeal Court Judge, in his report submitted as far back as October 2017. But it is more appalling to note that it has ended up as many other such reports in the graveyard of history for some Thomas
Grey to write an epitaph one day!
Be that as it may, we have to focus on some of the extremely relevant issues highlighted in this report in the context of the subject we are discussing. It is also noteworthy that the Auditor General Gamini Wijesinghe in a report dated 16 March 2018, titled ‘Special report on the solid waste management of the Colombo Municipal Council’ has confirmed these facts from the point of view of an official government audit. Both the Commission Report and the Audit report are voluminous and too lengthy to be dealt with in an article like this. But it would suffice to convey the recommendation part of these two reports for the citizenry to understand the plight they are in. Hence the following:
Extracts summarised from the Commission Report;
There has been no coordination between the related Government agencies over a period of four years to identify the disastrous situation that was building up around the Meethotamulla Dumping Yard prior to the tragic event on 14/4/2017. The CMC which was entrusted with the responsibility of dumping garbage to this place and the management and administration of the associated activities have completely failed in their duty and no satisfactory action has been taken by the CMC and its administration including the Municipal Commissioner.
The following Government/Statutory institutions are jointly and severally held liable for neglecting their statutory responsibilities for the failure to appropriately monitor the operations of the Meethotamulla Garbage Dumping Yard;
The management and the administration of this place has been under the CMC by a staff with two engineers and a number of labourers assigned to the project under the overall supervision of Director Engineering (waste management) of the CMC.
The hazardous situation has gradually developed from 2013 and from time to time and as alternate relief measures the CMC has paid compensations to the identified victims amounting to Rs. 606,814,020.70 from its funds.
The peril has been aggravated due to permitting outside parties to irregularly dump garbage to this place by illegally recovering payments from them.
The machinery of a project set up at this place at a cost of Rs. 90 million granted under the auspicious of the Central Environment Authority to produce compost has been submerged under the garbage due to careless and irregular dumping of garbage.
The following reasons for causing this hazard have been identified by the Commission:
Failure to introduce successful measures to minimise garbage generation
Failure of the CMC to create a system of separating bio degradable waste at the source as well as at the dumping place
Failure to introduce effective measures to control private dumping to the yard
Not taking effective alternate remedial actions that were recommended Despite of the availability of a large number of engineers at the CMC it has failed to subject the dumping yard to suitable satisfactory supervisory control
Commission has also pointed out several other lapses, shortcomings, procedural violations as well as irregular practices on the part of the CMC in this regard. All those remain as valuable historical records for some action some day in the future by someone.
The Auditor General in his report inter-alia has reported as follows:
nAlthough CMC had made adequate provisions annually to purchase transport and other equipment required for the operation of Waste handling, the funds have not been utilised for the purpose {not even 40% of the provisions used}.
nVehicles and equipment have been hired for this purpose from private parties at a very high cost on a regular basis. The percentage increase in the cost has been estimated as 9.7% (2010 as base year) to 462.9% in 2016.
nAuditor General has observed that the provisions under the procurement procedure of the Government has been violated in certain instances under this private hiring.
The table illustrates this audit query.
Determinations by Auditor General
The CMC is responsible for the 32 human lives lost during the Meethotamulla incident
Waste is an asset of the CMC but the CMC has failed to identify and treat so. Therefore the Municipal Commissioner and the Officials are held responsible for the loss created thus
The payment of compensation to victims has not been computed on a scientific basis hence the officials should be held responsible for the extra cost to the State
Officials have failed to take adequate measures to reduce the volume of Waste generated, recycling and effective use of waste and have not paid due attention to introduce measures in this regard. Therefore they should be held responsible for the loss and the prejudice caused to the Council.
The Commissioner has done his part by submitting a report as requested. He cannot be held responsible for the report being consigned to abeyance by the authorities. Fact of the matter is several human lives have been lost. Properties damaged. People displaced. Country disgraced. Several obvious irregularities established and pointed out. Alas! No one is to be held responsible! What a country! While the Guinness record keepers take note of this extraordinary situation shall we ask whether the Auditor General’s role is also concluded with his reporting? What a pathetic situation if it is so.
Finally, the new Governor of the Western Province Azath Sally, was a sitting member of the Colombo Municipal Council when he was elevated to this Brobdingnagian status. Will he use his good office, we appeal to him to use his personal background information and his commitment to a corrupt free administration to address this issue with an open mind in order to;
Punish the wrongdoers already authentically identified,
Induce positive thinking to the policy makers in the CMC to bring a permanent solution to the waste management problem
Address the ongoing colossal wastage and pilferage associated with this subject at the CMC level
Use his good office to give a leadership to find a solution to this social responsibility of helping to create a liveable environment worth sustaining for future generations
We will hope for the best and await some focus to originate from some Samaritan quarters without further delay as all of us are aware of the limited time ahead of us.
(The writer is a Colombo Municipal Councillor.)
