Congress to VMC: Blacklist contractor for ‘delay’ in implementing waste-to-energy plant

Stating that the delay in implementing the project, which was supposed to have been completed by September 11, 2021, has cost VMC an additional burden on the landfill site, Ravat said, “In view of the delay, we demand that legal action should be initiated against Abbelon Clean Energy Limited by forfeiting their deposit and terminating their contract for causing environmental degradation and groundwater contamination by handling almost 11.40 lakh tonnes of solid waste without adequate precautions for leachate management or proper scientific treatment of surface where waste is handled.”

Ravat, who met the newly appointed Municipal Commissioner Banchchanidhi Pani Thursday, said in her letter that VMC should also “recover rent for illegally using” the four-acre space meant for the Landfill-2 site of the city. “VMC must initiate the recovery of rent from the contractor for illegally using the four-acre land meant for Phase -2 of the landfill site since Nov 2019, in spite of handing over 8.5-acre land WTE project by VMC. As per the VMC budget, this rent should be calculated as Rs 100 per square metres per day and for 38 months, would amount to Rs 182 crore,” the Congress leader stated, demanding an immediate clearance of the landfill Phase-2 site. She also sought an assessment of the Environment Damage Compensation by a regulatory authority such as the Gujarat Pollution Control Board, NGT or the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute be initiated for “reclaiming land designated for Phase 2 of the Landfill site and the recovery of the interim compensation till the assessment is completed.”

Ravat noted that even if the Covid lockdown period was considered, the waste-to-energy plant should have been completed by December 2021.

“VMC is giving 1,000 MTD waste to Abbelon from November 2019. To date, 1,140 MT of waste for primary processing has been given. The agency was supposed to start a Waste-to-Energy Processing plant in 2019 but to date the plant is not functional. They have handled almost 1140 MT waste on untreated site in rains too, and leachate from the site has damaged the land and groundwater. In fact, it has negated the very purpose of spending crores in construction and O&M of Phase-1 on the landfill site. Hence, VMC had to dispose of the unprocessed waste into the landfill causing environmental issues… At present, more than 8 lakh tonnes of waste is lying on site meant for Phase 2 of landfill,” Ravat said.