Landfill: devp body for tie-up with private players

According to M R Shah,principal advisor of the Solid Waste Management cell of MMRDA,apart from the scarcity of land faced by these ULBs,the administration also faces lack of expertise to deal with landfill sites,long term planning and also finance.

There is a detailed study underway to chalk out a strategy for ULBs to deal with the problem of disposing of waste.

“In a meeting with our consultants National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) on Wednesday,it was planned that a cluster-wise development of the landfill sites for the ULBs should be done on a business model,preferably PPP,” said Shah,former Chief Engineer of the SWM in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. KPMG could also be roped in as one of the parties in the plan,Shah said.

Shah added that the study would look into the improvement,upgradation and even cancellation of the landfill site,if it is found not up to the mark,and in that case,a new landfill site will subsequently be allocated. According to him,the disposal of waste done by the urban local bodies is against the Municipal Solid Waste Rules,2000,issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forest,and therefore it has to be discarded immediately.

Meanwhile,the SWM cell of MMRDA is also working on a common regional landfill site for two-three municipal bodies. The idea is to locate a large piece of land with a lifespan of at least 25 to 30 years and then expand those sites later.

The sites identified in Bhiwandi (on Thane-Bhiwandi Road),Ulhasnagar-Ambernath,Kalyan (Shil Patha Road),Taloja (near Taloja Industrial Area),Airoli (after the Mulund Airoli Bridge on both sides) and one on the Panvel-Pune highway,are said to be large enough to cater to at least two to three urban local bodies each. In fact,the biggest site —the one in Ambernath— has an area of around 1,200 hectares.

Environmental study
The MMRDA has initiated a regional environmental impact study for the MMR and specifically for areas around the six sites for which a common landfill site has been identified.

“The study will be recording various parameters,such as the rainfall in the area,air quality etc for at least two seasons,” M R Shah said.

“Apart from the environmental impact on the regions where the landfill site situates,the study will also look into its socio-economic impacts on the region,” he added.