Maharashtra government bars BMC from leasing dump yards at concession

The city's battle to manage its humongous mounds of waste has wriggled its way into the courthouse, what with the BMC crossing swords with the state, which has shot down its wish to lease out its dumping grounds land to contractors for processing waste at a concessional rate of Re1 per square metre.

The state's decision, say civic officials, will set garbage disposal in a city already overflowing with its rubbish back by five years.

Why didn’t state give BMC go-ahead?
Even though the dumping ground land belongs to BMC, it needs the state’s nod to lease it out to private contractors at a concessional rate. And the state has refused to give it, following the state-appointed SK Goel committee's inquiry report, which cites "anomalies" in the process landfill contractors were appointed by the BMC for its dumping grounds.

What do civic officials say?
Civic officials further complained that the state had been sitting on its request since 2009, only to shoot it down six years later. “After so many years, when the state takes a decision, it’s against us.We are trying to understand why the committee has made such a decision. Mumbai will go back five years if contractors are not given the land at a concessional rate, as otherwise, no contractor will want to take up the projects,” a senior civic official said, adding , "It is not feasible to cancel the existing contracts, since starting the entire process again may cause another massive delay in implementing the projects.”

Why aren’t banks supporting contractors?
The state's dithering for more than half a decade is a major reason why waste treatment at dumping grounds did not take off so far, as banks refused to support the contractors without a proper lease agreement, officials said.

What is the situation at city’s landfills?
None of this bodes well for Mumbai's waste management. Mounds of garbage at the Deonar dumping are scraping the sky, having risen to the height of an 18-storey tower, which incidentally is much beyond the Airports Authority of India's permissible height for constructions.

Maharashtra government couldn’t overrule own committee
Back in 2013, Prithviraj Chavan, then the CM the two-member Goel committee, comprising senior bureaucrats SK Goel and Srikant Singh. The panel’s aim was to probe the BMC’s solid waste management projects at Deonar, Mulund and Kanjurmarg, following allegations of irregularities in the award of contracts for waste processing.

Official sources from the state government said that since the committee was appointed by the state, it would have been unfair on the state’s part to snub its findings and go ahead and allow the BMC to lease the land to private parties at a concessional rate.

“Moreover, the BMC had already drawn up agreements with contractors, and came for a permission from the state later, which didn’t make any sense,” a state official said, adding that the delay in the government’s decision was all because of the problems in the tendering process. Three landfill contractors were appointed by the BMC – one for each dumping ground, on a build-own-operate-transfer basis.

A BMC functionary pointed out, “The panel’s inquiry report has alleged irregularities in the Deonar project, but the state has also turned down our requests for giving out Mulund and Kanjurmarg dumping grounds to contractors at a concessional rate.”

The matter is currently sub-judice. In a recent Bombay high court hearing, BMC has been asked to submit affidavits on why they should be allowed to give away Kanjurmarg and Mulund dumping grounds at a concessional rates. BMC chief Sitaram Kunte confirmed the news and said, “The matter is sub-judice, so I won’t be able to comment on it.”