Committee invites fresh tenders, which will take at least 6 months.
Killer gases will continue to enter the homes of citizens residing in the suburban belts of Mankhurd, Chembur, Deonar, Ghatkopar, Vikhroli and parts of Navi Mumbai a little longer than expected. This is because the unregulated dumping of waste at Deonar will continue for now at least.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) standing committee on Monday rejected a proposal for the scientific closure of a portion of the 82-year-old dumping ground and transforming the remaining portion into an integrated waste treatment facility.
The standing committee has also objected to the model, on the basis of which tenders were called. The model suggested by the Indian Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS), a consultant to the BMC, allows the operator of the waste-treatment facility to charge the BMC tipping fees (cost per tonne for treating the waste). Fresh tenders for the closure proposals are expected to take anywhere between six to 18 months.
About 70 per cent of the 10,000 tonnes of waste generated in Mumbai is dumped at Deonar at present while the remaining 3,000 tonnes is dumped at Mulund. Over 25 lakh people are believed to be affected by the pollution caused by the unregulated dumping at Deonar.
The questioning of the model means that the plan for two more proposed waste treatment plants at Kanjurmarg and Mulund is unclear. Thus, Mumbai’s waste will remain untreated for the next few months.
On Monday, the civic administration had agreed to bring down the overall project cost by Rs913 crore to Rs3,495 crore over 25 years. But the committee was not satisfied and directed the administration to scrap the project and call for new bids. The proposal to partially close Deonar was first tabled in July 2008. Reacting to the setback, additional municipal commissioner RA Rajeev said, “The need of the hour is an independent professional agency for waste disposal in the city.”
A National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) study found large amounts of particulate matter and the carcinogenic gas formaldehyde around Deonar.
Unhappy residents, who formed the Smoke-Affected Residents’ Forum (SARF), had filed a plea in the Bombay High Court in 1996 demanding the dumping ground’s closure. The BMC promised to come up with a scientific method for disposing off the waste. SARF recently filed a contempt petition saying the commitment was not met. The BMC had replied that the proposed scientific treatment facility would provide relief.
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