Uttarkashi: In gross violation of environment laws and negating efforts to clean Ganga, the Uttarkashi civic body was found to be disposing of garbage in a dumping zone located in the forest area. The Tekhla stream that flows alongside the pile washes away the waste and dumps the load into the Ganga.The violations were found during a surprise inspection by additional commissioner of Garhwal division Harak Singh Rawat on Monday, following which he pulled up the civic body and directed the officials to find an alternate spot for disposal of garbage.Talking to TOI, Rawat said, “The dumping zone developed by the municipality violates all environmental laws and is causing considerable damage to the clean Ganga projects. It is shocking that despite being a part of the eco-sensitive zone, the municipality has not developed an efficient solid waste management system.”Rawat added that if no land is available, the department must develop facilities such as segregation, treatment and efficient solid waste management systems at the earliest. “Action will be taken against the officials if they will fail to follow the orders,” he said.Residents said that in the absence of a proper solid waste management system, the civic administration is destroying an ecologically sensitive zone.Subhash Bhatt, a resident of Uttarkashi, said, “We have been protesting against the dumping of garbage in the area for the past many years but we were never given a patient hearing. Earlier, the civic workers used to burn the garbage in the name of disposal. When we opposed to that, they started dumping waste in the forest area and in the Ganga tributary.”An Uttarkashi-based activist, Dwarika Semwal, said that the lack of facilities is directly polluting the Ganga. “To save the area, the administration should adopt modern waste disposal methods.”Water activist Rajendra Singh said that Uttarakhand’s status in terms of keeping Ganga clean is evident from the frequent notices that the state has received from the National Green Tribunal (NGT). “The government is spending a lot on Namami Gange projects and it is the duty of the authorities to check that the works are being carried out in letter and spirit. If a tributary of Ganga in Uttarkashi is getting polluted, then how will Ganga be pollution free in the plains? Uttarkashi is upstream and the holy river is getting soiled at its origin,” said Singh, who is popularly known as the waterman of India.He added that it should not be forgotten that seer GD Agrawal lost his life for the cause of Ganga. “The authorities should take the onus on themselves and solve the problem at the earliest.”Meanwhile, municipal administrator and sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Bhatwari, Devendra Singh Negi, said that due to stringent environment laws of the area, it becomes difficult to find a suitable place to dump garbage. “Uttarkashi is a highly sensitive zone with 80% forest coverage. Also, Ganga, Yamuna and Tons flow in the district. On the other hand, Uttarkashi town generates around 4-5 tonne of garbage on a daily basis. Finding a suitable spot to dispose such a huge quantity of garbage becomes next to impossible. So we have decided to take help of modern methods.”He added that tenders will be floated for installation of compacter machine and segregation unit. “We will segregate the waste and make organic manure out of it. We are also planning to plant flowering plants around the units to beautify the area.”With inputs by Shivani Azad

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