The Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) plan to treat municipal solid waste through biomining is a double-edged sword. Not only will thousands of residents living in and around Bhandewadi continue to suffer for at least another three years, the contractual obligation will also leave the civic body poorer by about Rs100 crore.
The problem of solid waste management was put up before the standing committee in the last meeting held on May 10. Based on the guidelines of ministry of housing and urban affairs, the NMC drafted a tender and called for an expression of interest (EoI). While four private agencies showed interest, only one purchased the tender — Zigma Global Environ Solutions Pvt Ltd.
After negotiations, the final price was brought down to Rs1,015 per metric tonne, informed a senior NMC official. According to last year’s study by German experts, more than 18 lakh metric tonne of solid waste is lying at Bhandewadi. However as per the civic body, the quantity is around 10 lakh metric tonne. Even if the latter figures are considered, the total cost of bio-mining will cross Rs100 crore.
The ministry might provide some financial grant for remediation of waste dumpsite but the exact amount is not known yet. “We might get grants around Rs30-35 crore. The amount will be finalized after submitting the development project report (DPR),” the official said. NMC also plans to sell the residue derived fuel generated from the waste to a cement plant in Chandrapur for around Rs250 per metric tonne.
All such remedial measures are happening at a time when other states are seeking technical support for managing solid waste from the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (Neeri), which is headquartered at Nagpur. “An institute like Neeri is in Nagpur itself, why can't the chief minister give them the work order and funds rather than playing with people's health,” Swachh Association’s president Anasuya Kale-Chhabrani tweeted. A feasibility study conducted by German experts on the city’s waste management last year had categorically questioned the efficacy of biomining process at Bhandewadi.
As per the agreement, the agency would be allotted a time of three years to complete the bio-mining process in which the waste is loosened by harrowing and sprayed with composting bio cultures. NMC’s waste-to-energy plant, the work of which has not even started, will take at least two years to get ready.
Moreover in another two years, more than 7 lakh metric tonne of waste will get dumped at the site (assuming that 200 out of 1200 metric tonne of daily waste is being treated).
Under such circumstances, there seems to be no immediate relief for residents. While they are breathing toxic air as the unsegregated heaps of waste are frequently on fire, the water they are drinking is contaminated. Recently, TOI had tested some water samples for few borewells and the results revealed that the water was highly unsafe for drinking. The leachate generated from solid waste is polluting the groundwater.
Suggesting some urgent mitigation measures, director of Neeri Rakesh Kumar said, “NMC should create trench around the site so that the leachate can be channelized in one direction.” He added that the landfill should be covered with soil or construction debris and simultaneously gas extraction pipes should be installed for venting methane.
The best solution is to segregate the waste, said Kaustav Chatterjee, founder of NGO Green Vigil. “Eight months have passed and NMC is claiming that only 27% of waste is being segregated. This is a sorry figure,” he added.
He added that after segregating, 600 metric tonne of non-biodegradable waste should go to the plant and around 200 metric tonne of biodegradable waste should either be used for composting or supplementing the calorific value of waste that is going to the plant.
The group of residents, who had filed a petition in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) against unscientific dumping of waste, demand strict action. Right to Information (RTI) activist Ankita Shah terms it a “contempt of court”. “The NGT’s directives were blatantly violated. Despite giving prosecution powers to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, it did not take any action against NMC,” she added.
(Concluded)