The continuing impasse over the garbage mess in Jowai has necessitated the government taking a tough stand, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said today.
Garbage has been piling up in Jowai for months and all attempts by the authorities to find a new landfill have come to nought because of fierce opposition from the public when they come to find that a site has been proposed near their village.
Even the imposition of Section 144 banning the gathering of crowds and disrupting the dumping of garbage in Pangit, Khliehtyrshi by the authorities had little effect as the public still came out to prevent the dumper trucks from entering the area.
“It is a situation where the government is now having to take a tough stand,” Sangma said, adding that a meeting was recently held between the Deputy CM, Urban Affairs Minister and the department on how to resolve the matter.
“We first need to find a temporary phase and then an intermediate level and, in the long term, there should be a solution that is going to be much more sustainable,” the CM stated while citing the example of Tura, which has roped in a South Korean company to turn its waste into energy. “The government did not spend anything and it was done by the company,” he said.
Traditional leaders have been some of those opposed to the dumping of waste near their villages and in Jowai they called for a 36-hour shutdown demanding the authorities clear the piled up garbage in that time.
Asked if traditional heads should be held accountable, Sangma said that that can be something that they can look at as a long term solution.
“Certain laws can be made keeping in mind the traditional laws and land rights. Balancing all those aspects, how we could come up with a balanced law making people accountable, definitely that can be explored but that is a long term process that we can look at,” he added.
