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Mumbai: City of garbage hits a dead end
In 2011-12, Mumbai alone
accounted for 6.11% of the total waste generated daily in India. As its waste
piles up, the
land-starved city is staring at
the big question — where to dump? Our reporters look at options.
Of the 1,27,486
tonnes of waste generated daily in India in 2011-12, Mumbai alone accounted for
6.11 per cent. It is estimated that every resident in the metropolis now
generates about 630 grams of waste daily, a figure that is expected to touch 1
kg in the coming years. Land-starved that the city is, this leaves its planners
with an extremely difficult choice — where to dump?
The predicament,
coupled with concerns for high-level emissions of greenhouse gases from the
city’s unsanitary landfills and the growth of bacteria that cause
life-threatening diseases, has fuelled the prospects of the waste management
industry, which has yet to firmly establish itself in India. Estimates suggest
that the Rs 60,000-crore industry has the potential to grow at 10-15 per cent a
year. Foretelling the latent possibilities of this business, Dr Amiya Sahu,
president of National Solid Waste Association of India (NSWAI) and member of
the Planning Commission’s task force for Solid Waste Management (SWM), says,
“Garbage is money, if handled properly.” The dumping ground
at Deonar. (IE Photo: Prashant Nadkar) The dumping ground at Deonar. (IE Photo:
Prashant Nadkar)
While the quantum of garbage generated by the
city is only expected to increase, the infrastructure necessary to manage it is
still not in place. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has ambitious
plans to process and manage the 7,000-8,000 metric tonnes (MT) of waste
generated daily. But since the formulation of the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
Rules (management and handling) in 2000, most of these ideas have either failed
to take off the drawing board or are poorly implemented today.
CURRENT
SITUATION
Environmentalists believe the BMC’s current
policies are in violation of MSW Rules, 2000, as the corporation allows
compactor trucks to collect mixed waste and fails to penalise buildings that do
not segregate waste. In February last year, a circular issued by deputy
municipal commissioner (SWM) Prakash Patil stated that by July 2013, the
corporation would stop accepting mixed waste and issue legal notices to housing
societies that fail to segregate waste at the source.
The big announcement, however, fell flat as
the corporation failed to provide vehicles for collecting dry waste from
housing societies. Since last year, the corporation has been working on a
long-term plan to ensure 100 per cent segregation by March 2015. The plan has
yet to be finalised.
To read more: http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/city-of-garbage-hits-a-dead-end/
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