1. Mavallipura Municipal Solid Waste Disposal Case
Environment Support Group
105, EAST END ‘B’ Main Road
Jayanagar 9th Block, Bangalore

2. Dumping at Mavallipura
While construction of the landfill is still going on as per the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, BMP (Bangalore Mahanagara Palike), the municipal authority of Bangalore is short of land to dispose off waste.
The BMP, leased a farmer’s land for dumping in May, Part of it is owned by the Forest Department
Approx. 300 truckloads of waste is dumped each day.
Waste contains unsegregated hospital waste and hazardous waste.

3. Chain reactions…….
The waste was burnt to reduce the volume of waste and to ward off insects.
Some contaminants become air-borne.
20 tankers of water used to extinguish the fire.
4 wells had been dug up to collect leachate from the dump.
Overflowing leachate during the rains reached surface and well water downstream
The water from series of water bodies joins the Tippagondanahalli Reservoir.
Contamination of groundwater is highly likely.

4. Reuse and Recycling at Mavallipura
One rag picker basically collected milk sachets and other plastic(12 kg), glass(1 kg), iron and steel(8 Kg), tins and cans (5kg), batteries and cells, miscellaneous reusable and recyclables
The entire area had about rag pickers making a living from this illegal dump.
Mostly women and children
Suffer from severe Respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases

5. Social and Environmental Impacts
In a water quality test that ESG got done high level of Cadmium was found.
Mavallipura and about 8 neighbouring villages had to bear stench day and night.
People suffering from various respiratory and skin diseases, allergies etc. (according to a medical camp conducted by FRLHT)
Farming has been severely affected.
Jakkur Flying school and Yelahanka Airforce Base are under threat from bird hits.

6. Water Quality Test Results

8. People’s struggle
Members of the Dalit Sangharsha Samiti (DSS), a depressed people’s movement initiated opposition to the dump but did not have information on how to go about it and whom to approach.
Their efforts to resolve the issue at the Local Panchayat and few other government agencies but these bodies refused to take any action or help.

9. Local Community Initiatives
In 2005 DSS approached ESG, and were guided on filing complaints with the KSPCB and given information on legal provisions.
Several representations were made to the KSPCB (Karnataka State Pollution Board).
KSPCB sent notices to BMP to take appropriate measures to minimise pollution. A personal hearing was also held to discuss the dumping in Mavallipura. Decisions taken were not followed by the BMP
KSPCB filed a criminal case against the lessor, the landowner but surprisingly not against the lessee i.e., the BMP.

10. Recent Developments
Locals gather to stop trucks from dumping February this year.
Police complaints filed by both the DSS and the land owner claiming threat to life and damage to property.
August 2006, about 1000 people from neighbouring villages gathered and damaged property when members of the DSS went to collect photographs as evidence for the case filed against the landowner.

11. Forest department wakes up
In the midst of the complaints, meetings, discussions and high level consultations within government departments, the forest department realises the land on which waste was being dumped belongs to them and not to the farmer
The mountains of waste is burnt overnight, fresh soil brought from elsewhere and covered
Forest Department plans to restore the area

12. Mavallipura Faces other issues
Landfill site close to Mavallipura despite protests from communities Capacity of Landfill and Bioreactor will not be able to cater to the amount of waste generated. Landfill scientifically inefficient to handle toxic non degradable sludge