Aurangabad: People living in areas around waste processing sites at Padegaon and Harsul Sawangi allege that Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) tricked people about processing waste. They say the civic body built composting pits and dry shed giving an impression that proper waste processing will be undertaken. However, the AMC ended up turning the sites into mere garbage dumping grounds.In March, AMC identified nine sites around the city for establishing waste processing units. Out of these, the steering (monitoring) committee headed by Purushottam Bhapkar gave permission to the municipal corporation to set up waste processing units at four places at Harsul Sawangi, Padegaon, Chikalthana and Kanchanwadi. The Kanchanwadi site was given permission for setting up a bio-methanation plant.Residents living near these sites had expressed concerns over the waste processing units. Villagers feared that the AMC would turn the sites into dumping ground.Apparently, in order to gain confidence of people the AMC assured the people that processing of waste through scientific methods will be undertaken at the sites and there will be no dumping.The civic body built compost pits at Harsul Sawangi and Padegaon, 5 to 6 months ago. On a visit to Harsul Sawangi TOI found the pits unused and clean.At Padegaon, the AMC had built two sets of composting pits, with 16 pits each. The municipal corporation initially used one of the sets for composting organic waste. However, the other set of compost pits remain untouched.It was expected that AMC will receive segregated waste from the city, bring the organic waste to the pits to be developed into compost. The prepared compost will then be given to farmers. However, as the pits were never used the question of compost does not arise.Responding to the allegations, additional commissioner Shrikrushna Bhalsing said that the pits at Padegaon were used and compost produced from it was given to farmers, while the pits at Harsul Sawangi were not in use as the zone sending waste to the site have decentralised processing sites.Incidentally, the allegations of what AMC is doing contradict what the civic body told the high court. The civic body said that it was composting wet waste at the waste processing sites and the dry was being sent to a factory in Chittegaon for fuel.

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