Journalism of Courage
Though Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar said that the proposed garbage processing sites Vadhu Budruk and Tulapur will be reconsidered,after people expressed concern that these are religious sites,the state government has not changed its stand.
A senior government official from the environment department in the Mantralya said the government is going ahead with the two sites. This has come after a lot of discussion and a recce by administration officers. The land has already been allocated and we are not changing the sites. Its now up to the local administration to put in the money for the acquisition of the two sites, said the officer.
He said a section of media had reported that Pawar had said there will be re-consideration of the two sites. No such issue has come to the department. We are going ahead with the same sites as of now, he said.
The two sites,where the garbage processing units will come up,were decided after assessing several other options. “Both the sites are government land and the local body has to cough up Rs 2.63 crore for 25 acres of land each at both the sites. Both are grazing land of the villages,” said an admininistration official.
Meanwhile,a third site is in the final stages of approval. “These two sites have been approved and after paying up the government,garbage processing units could be installed. There will not be any more dumping sites in the city,” said the civic officer.
At present,the Hanjir processing plant at the existing site takes on nearly 1,000 metric tonnes while the Hadapsar industrial unit and the Ramtekdi unit take on 100 metric tonnes each. The biogas plants in each of the wards take on another 50 metric tonnes. “Additional sites with garbage processing plants will always help as back-up if there is any technical failure at other plants,” said a PMC officer.
The sites were chosen after severe protests by villagers of Urali Devachi and Phursungi.The civic body stopped all open dumping by May 31 and the villagers were also given assurances of drinking water supply and better infrastructure. The state government has also taken a decision that there would be no dumping henceforth anywhere in the state.
