Cantonment Board eyes tie-up with sugar co-ops for manure disposal

Speaking to The Indian Express,PCB chief executive officer D K Malik said the Board has released Rs 8 lakh for the renovation of the plant. “The work of the plant will start soon and will be fully operational by March. One of the main problems faced by the Board was to market the organic fertiliser (manure). We have decided to approach sugar co-operative societies,which in turn will supply it to the farmers,” he said.

About 14,500 tonnes waste is generated annually within the PCB limit and a large chunk of it is now dumped in a 27-acre land that belongs to the Board near the Hadapsar industrial estate after the closure of the vermicompost plant. At full capacity,the plant can treat up to 40 tonnes of biodegradable waste on a day-to-day basis.

According to V S Kulkarni,chief health superintendent of PCB,it was the theft of cables and pipes interconnecting the seven bore wells that initially affected the work two years ago. “Water from the bore well is used to regulate the temperature of the vermi-bed. Of the seven bore wells,three are in working condition. The engineering department has been entrusted the job of interconnecting the bore wells,” he said.

Kulkarni said the PCB had constructed a boundary wall around the plot and undertook a tree plantation drive to improve the hygienic condition of the area,“About 8,000 saplings were planted and a rainwater-harvesting zone was also created for attracting birds. The project is spread in a nine-acre land of the 27-acre plot in possession with the PCB,” he added.