Archbishop intervenes in the Uttan dumping ground dispute

Archbishop of Bombay Cardinal Oswald Gracias has intervened to solve a three-year-old dispute over the Uttan dumping ground in Mira-Bhayander. He travelled to the suburb last week to meet Mira-Bhayander municipal commissioner Shivmurti Naik.

In September 2009, villagers stopped entry of garbage trucks to the facility for several weeks. The agitation was called off after the Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) agreed to shift the facility in one year.

“It has been more than a year since then, but the dumping continues,” said Roney Corriea, vice-president of the civic and political cell at the Bhayander deanery.

Community groups like the Association of Concerned Catholics (AOCC) asked the church to intervene again to solve the issue. “The church had asked the villagers to withdraw their agitation as the municipal corporation had agreed to close the dump in a year and withdraw police cases. Though one year has passed, no church authority is talking about it,” said Greg Pereira, president, AOCC.

“We have requested the Archbishop to give us nine more months to move the facility. We will send a proposal to the state government for approval to shift the dump,” said Naik. “As far as complaints about smell from the dump are concerned, we have been sending our staff to the ground regularly to take preventive measures.”

Other community groups criticised the request for more time. “It is unfortunate that the MBMC is using the Archbishop’s kind-heartedness to get away with their negligence,” said Gordon D’Souza, president of the Bombay Catholic Sabha.