BMC to upgrade 2 refuse transfer stations with state-of-the-art facilities

Civic officials said that at present the Mahalaxmi and Gorai stations will be upgraded and each of these centres is spread across one hectare. While the Mahalaxmi facility receive around 700 metric tonnes (MT) of waste, the Gorai facility collects 400 MT of waste daily.

“The primary objective of upgrading these facilities is to improve the infrastructure through which waste is segregated. Our plan is to install compactor machines equipped with conveyor belts for an automated segregation process,” an official with the solid waste management (SWM) department of the BMC said.

Currently, waste is dumped in these stations by garbage trucks and dumpers, following which it is segregated and transported with the help of JCB cranes.

The officials said that even though the BMC appeals for source segregation of waste, a major quantum of solid waste collected regularly are mixed in nature. Civic officials maintained that upgrading infrastructure will lead to a decline in the amount of waste transported to the Deonar landfill.

“After automated segregation is done we will be able to identify the nature of waste very easily. This will help us in recycling a significant proportion of solid waste, that will in turn ease the load of waste sent to landfills,” the official said. Civic officials also maintained that the Mahalaxmi and Gorai stations will be upgraded since they are larger in size.

The BMC has floated an Expression of Interest (EoI) asking licensed players and consultants to submit their plan of setting this project, following this the authorities will appoint a consultant to create a Detailed Project Report (DPR). A tender will then be floated to appoint the consultant to carry out construction and upgrading work.

Earlier on December 11, the Indian Express highlighted how BMC took it’s first step towards making the Deonar landfill free of the mountain of garbage that had been lying open for over nine decades. The process of going about this comprised conducting a characterisation study of legacy waste followed by bio-mining.

“As part of the upgrading process, we will also create boundaries to cover the entire periphery. At present both these facilities are kind of open land parcels and over the past few decades residential buildings have emerged around these facilities. Our idea is to cover them entirely so that the smell doesn’t reach residents living nearby and affect their health in any way,” the official added.

An Express Series ‘Death by Breath’ launched on October 19, revealed how rising pollution levels in Mumbai over the years has exposed its people, particularly young children, to health hazards with adverse long-term consequences.

In one of the reports published on October 25, Express had highlighted how reckless garbage burning contributed to increased air pollution levels. The Express report also pointed out that one of the key aspects of solid waste management relates to segregation, given the increasing quantum of garbage collected by the civic body every year.

On the day this report was published, Deepak Kesarkar, guardian minister of Mumbai told Express that a process to segregate waste in landfills was being chalked out.