Mumbai waste management plan: BMC runs into hurdles over acquisition of Taloja, Airoli plots

For the Taloja plot, officials from the SWM department said only 39 hectares of government land was handed over in December.

APART from the closure of the Mulund dumping ground and the setting up of a waste-to-energy plant at Deonar which are a long way off, the BMC’s plans on solid waste management, which include acquisition of two plots at Taloja and Airoli, have also come to a halt. While a part of the 59-hectare plot in Taloja has been handed over, the civic body is at loggerheads with the Salt Commissioner who has also staked claim on the 32-hectare Airoli plot, where the BMC plans to set up a debris recycling plant.

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After being pulled up by the HC last year, the BMC had said it would acquire two plots at Taloja and Airoli as alternative waste processing sites. Though the Thane collector had handed over the plot on paper in February last year, the actual acquisition became a tricky affair. SWM officials said that it would take a year or two before the work on site can begin on either plots.

For the Taloja plot, officials from the SWM department said only 39 hectares of government land was handed over in December. “Around 12 hectares are private land, of which about three hectares are occupied by a tribal community since 1959. The collector has to figure out the compensation for the private land owners and the tribals have to be rehabilitated,” said the official.

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Another civic official said the residents of the tribal village are vehemently opposed to the idea of moving. “We have been trying to fix our boundary to demarcate the portion of the land handed over to us. But the villagers try to sabotage our work and damage the poles in the night. We have had to file a complaint with the Hill Line police station in Ambarnath, in which we have asked for police protection,” he said.

Regarding the plot in Airoli, while the collector had agreed to hand over the property to the civic body last year, the Salt Commissioner has staked claim on the same plot. “There is a dispute over the claim of the property and the civic chief had written to the chief secretary of the state on January 21 to resolve the issue and conduct a coordination meeting. We are yet to hear from them,” said the official.

After the waste-to-energy plant at Deonar is functional, in around four years, the capacity of processing waste will be enhanced at Kanjur and Deonar and the Mulund dumping ground will be shut down in a phased manner. While a debris processing plant will come up at Airoli, the excess waste and by product of the processed waste at Deonar will be taken to Taloja.

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