Legislator of the Keishamthong Assembly Constituency, Sapam Nishikanta is perhaps one among the member of the Manipur Legislative Assembly who not only showed extreme seriousness to the failed garbage management in the state, particularly in the Jurisdiction of Imphal Municipal Corporation but also gave suggestions for a solution. His suggestions to enhance revenue collection by the IMC to use the money collected for making the city clean need to be pondered by all lawmakers sitting in the ongoing state Assembly session.
From the brief speech delivered during the ongoing session, the Independent MLA from Keishamthong Assembly Constituency opened – How irresponsible are we and those assigned to make the city clean? Maximum of the people inhabiting Imphal city tried every means to pay taxes and almost all those in the IMC closed the chapter with just a couple of tips. The Independent MLA didn’t mention this, but even ordinary people know such things regularly happened. House tax, and hotel tax, among others besides octroi and parking taxes, are the major source of revenue for the IMC. If the elected corporators are sincere and if those working as employees in the IMC consider the task assigned to them, it may not take a day or two to make the city clean. Playing blame game to the roadside street vendors whether or not with small boxes, but by collecting a few tips by those assigned to look after them is another matter that makes Imphal a more dumping place. Every citizen knows this. Those paying tips to allow them to sit for selling Pan , Cigarette and another plastic-packed pan masala among others also knew that those goods are dirtying the footpaths. If one cross the foot bridge built for the convenience of people, it is easier to guess what ruined the beauty of Imphal city.
On house-to-house garbage collection (with payment of Rs. 150 to 200), MLA Nishikanta had rightly pointed out that these collectors at which the IMC had outsourced come only 4 times a month. Sometimes only thrice and once a week. The growing urbanisation has left little space for each house to keep the garbages. Rot smell started spreading and in a week family members sometimes had to bear the smell which may cause many kinds of illness.
Now, if one travels from Keishampat to Pishumthong in Keishamthong Assembly constituency, waste plastic package field with garbage, banned water bottles and dirty stuff will be found piled up in many places. If someone visits the one and only government school -Model High School, which saves the image of government school in the recently declared HSLC examination, the person will definitely think that whether the site is a garbage dumping site or a school.
Local people are not so selfish. They wanted to clean it and did that. But nobody from the IMC comes to collect it. No private garbage collectors did that either.
As stated by the Independent MLA from Keishamthong Assembly constituency, the Imphal Municipal Corporation does not own even a single garbage dumping site on its own. The one at Lamdeng is also not under the direct control of the IMC as they have outsourced.
Indeed, the state government needs to empower more to the functioning of the IMC. Experts who have been deployed paying lot of money as salary should be directed to find more garbage dumping sites.
The government of Manipur particularly the MAHUD and the Chief Minister should take the matter raised by MLA Nishikanta with extreme seriousness.
MLA Nishikanta’s concern on garbage management should be taken with extreme seriousness by CM
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