Aurangabad: The dumping of mixed waste at Kanchanwadi by the civic administration has costed nearly 20 neem trees to wither. Previously, the civic body had chopped down around 80-100 trees at Harsul.Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has been dumping mixed waste for the last 10 to 11 months at Kanchanwadi. The municipal corporation had earlier stated that it would process the waste dumped at Kanchanwadi and not engage in indiscriminate dumping at the site. In contradiction to it’s own statement, the municipal body dumps close to 100 tonnes of waste at the site daily without undertaking any processing.AMC had engaged a team from Mahatma Gandhi Mission which sprays liquid over the waste. Other than that, neither has there been an end to dumping, nor are any steps being taken to treat the mounds of garbage dumped at the site.The site, which was chosen by the civic body for dumping waste, has around 30 trees, mostly neem. Around three months ago, the trees at the site were lush green. When TOI visited the spot two days ago, it found that 15-20 neem trees, that were surrounded by waste, had burnt and lost its leaves.When asked about the reason for the damage, environment expert Meghna Badjate said that the seeping of toxic chemicals from the municipal waste may have resulted in the damage. “Moreover, half the waste was burnt to reduce the size of heap. As the roots of the trees are covered, the oxygen content depleted and harmful insects ate up the roots or damaged the base trunk,” said Badjate.Notably, this is not the first time that trees have been forced to bear the brunt of waste dumping. Previously, trees had been damaged at the dumping grounds in Harsul Sawangi and Central Naka. The trees which were surrounded with waste demonstrated the rot while the others remained green.Moreover, apart from spoiling the trees, AMC’s waste management has also chopped several fruit trees in Harsul Sawangi. The civic body has felled full grown trees of mango, custard apple and chikoo to raise the 16 TPD waste treatment plant at the site.Activist Ayyub Patel said that the civic body has destroyed the entire ecosystem of the area and put the health of the residents living nearby at stake.Mayor Nandkumar Ghodele said that he was not aware that the trees had been left to wither at Kanchanwadi. “If it has happened, it is a serious issue. I will look into the matter and find out the cause,” he said.

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