Mayor D. Venkatesh Murthy has gone back on his promise of shutting down the Mavallipura landfill. On Thursday he approved a resolution extending temporary relief to the residents of Mavallipura, but did not say anything about the closure of the landfill, which was the bone of contention. Some of the other demands of the agitating villagers have been met, at least in a resolution. The BBMP passed a resolution to set aside Rs 8 crore for improvement of civic amenities to 15 villages affected by the landfill, to hold weekly health camps, supply drinking water through tankers and sanction Rs 2 lakh compensation to the family of Srinivas, a villager who died when the police were deployed at Mavallipura.
The resolution also said that complying with the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) the accumulated garbage of 40 lakh tonnes will be processed and shifted elsewhere. Suitable legal action will be initiated against Ramky, the company that violated the agreement entered into with the BBMP. Later, speaking to reporters, ruling party leader N. Nagaraju said that fresh permission from the KSPCB will be obtained to re-open the landfill and comply with KSPCB and Municipal Solid Waste Rules 2000 in processing the waste.
However, opposition leader in the BBMP council, M.K. Gunashekar, demanded that the agreement with Ramky be rescinded. He also questioned the BBMP’s inability to submit the compliance report and criticised it for being lenient with Ramky in not levying penalty for their lapses. After the deputy mayor L. Srinivas adjourned the council as the mayor was away, the Congress corporators shouted anti-BJP and ‘Save Bengaluru’ slogans. Meanwhile, the government approved the BBMP budget on Thursday, but came down heavily on the civic body for delaying the budget.