Three bids for BMC’s Rs 2,368-crore waste cleanup, reclamation plan for Deonar

The deadline for submission of bids for the tender floated on May 14 was extended thrice, with the final deadline being Friday. Three bidders submitted their proposals. The names of the bidders have not been made public. The bids will be opened on July 8, after which the contract will be awarded to the bidder meeting all the required parameters.

Bioremediation is a process involving treating garbage with the help of natural elements like air, sunlight and microorganisms. Over time, as the biodegradable waste decomposes, the remaining non-biodegradable extracts are either recycled or treated artificially.

According to senior civic officials, during the pre-bid meeting which was convened earlier, at least 23 bidders had come forward and expressed interest. “Considering the unique nature of the work, the conditions of the tender were very stringent. Furthermore, this is a very challenging task in which nearly 2 crore metric tonnes of legacy waste have to be cleared over a period of three years. With only a few companies having the experience of conducting such large-scale bioremediation in the past, we have received responses from three bidders to our tender,” a senior official told The Indian Express.

According to civic data, of the 1.85 crore metric tonnes of waste currently stacked at the Deonar site, nearly 48 per cent comprises construction debris, 41 per cent is inert waste while 10 per cent is accounted for by dry, miscellaneous waste.

Prior to initiating cleaning at the Deonar dumping ground, the BMC in 2018 had undertaken cleaning of the 60-acre dumping ground at Mumbai’s Mulund area in the eastern suburbs that was operational from 1968 to 2018.