By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Women’s group, Lympung Ki Seng Kynthei (LKSK) on Tuesday stressed upon the need to have a relook on the Shillong Municipal Board’s (SMB) role in providing basic civic amenities to the residents of the city.
“There are many lacunae in the functioning of the SMB which has put the citizens in the municipal areas into a spot of bother,” LKSK president Thelin Phanbuh said after a workshop on the North Eastern Region Capital Development Investment Programme (NERCCDIP) on Sewerage and Solid Waste Management Projects which is funded by the Asian Development Bank to improve urban infrastructure, here on Tuesday.
Phanbuh said that there is a need to have an effective agency which would take care of the civic amenities in the city while also stressing on the need to actively involve the local Dorbar Shnong and various stakeholders in the constitution of such an agency.
Phanbuh added that lack of proper drainage system in the city is largely a result of the unprecedented increase in population in the past few years. “We know there are localities which does not have a proper drainage system. This has led to the dumping of the waste materials on the road side,” she said.
Shops throwing garbage on the road side in the absence of adequate garbage bins also add to the problem.
“There is need to put in place proper garbage dustbins in commercial areas,” Phanbuh said.
While admitting that there is a absence of civic sense among the people, LKSK president said that the indifferent attitude is also a cause for concern.
Phanbuh stressed on the need for a proper legislation for protection of the environment. “There are rules in place relating to construction on the river banks. Sadly, sadly the Government keeps these rules under wraps,” she said.
Earlier, the State Government had appointed Mott MacDonald Private Limited to assist State Investment Project Management and Implementation Unit (SIPMIU) in designing, construction, supervision and management of a major sewerage and waste management project to be implemented in the city. The project is due to be completed in 2015.
It may he mentioned that the ADB funds projects to improve the urban environment and promotes reforms for sustainable, efficient, and responsive urban service delivery in the capital cities of five states in the North Eastern Region (NER), namely, Agartala (Tripura), Aizawl (Mizoram), Kohima (Nagaland), Sikkim (Gangtok) and Shillong.