Pune garbage crisis: Why a dumpyard proposal is awaiting govt nod even as Moshi is overflowing

“Even if one day the garbage is not reprocessed at the Moshi depot, we have problems in accommodating the garbage,” said PCMC health chief Dr Anil Roy.

Across the city, daily garbage collection, transportation and disposal work begins at five in the morning and ends around 2 pm. Nearly 400 vehicles, which include compactors, ghanta gadis or tippers and trucks, criss-cross the industrial city carrying trash to the Moshi dump.

The civic body has appointed private contractors to carry out the task of collecting, transporting and disposing of the trash.

PCMC’s joint city engineer Sanjay Kulkarni said with the expansion of the city, a load of garbage is bound to increase. Keeping the future in mind, the civic authority had moved a proposal ten years ago for setting up of an additional garbage dump at Punawale, which is exactly opposite Moshi, and on the other side of the Pune-Mumbai highway that divides the city into two parts. However, the government is yet to decide on the proposal.

The additional garbage dump, says Kulkarni, will not only take care of the future increase in load but will also help in reducing the burden of collecting, transporting and disposing of the garbage from one part of the city to another.

The proposed site for a dumpyard near Kate Wasti, Poonawale. (Express photo by Ashish Kale)

“Another garbage dump can cater to areas like Pimple Saudagar, Wakad, Ravet, Thergaon and Kalewadi which are located on one side of the Pune-Mumbai highway. The existing one at Moshi can continue to cater to areas like Bhosari, Yamunanagar, Moshi, Chikhali, Indrayaninagar and Sant Tukaram Nagar,” he said.

Not only will the additional garbage dump cut down the cumbersome work, but also it will reduce the expenditure by a big margin. “Though the processing work is being done on the basis of built, operate and transfer, the garbage collection and transportation takes a lot of time, energy and money. PCMC is currently paying Rs 80 crore annually to the two contractors for collection and disposal. The cost will come down by a big sum if another dump in the nearby area is set up,” said Kulkarni. The movement of garbage also adds to air pollution and traffic congestion. A new dump is expected to reduce these as well.

But it is not just the government that is showing a lack of urgency. Aware of the fate of the residents around the Moshi dump, the localities in the Punawale area are strongly resisting the move to set up a garbage dump in their backyard. Civic officials believe this might be the main reason for the reluctance of the state government to approve the proposal. Atul Malode, a resident of Punawale, said the civic authorities had been unable to convincingly assure the residents that this would not turn into another Moshi dump.

“The residents in and around Punawale have strongly opposed the move to set up the garbage depot on the forest land in the area. Their opposition not only relates to health hazards the dumpyard will trigger but also whether PCMC will be able to effectively manage the transportation and movement of the garbage,” local Shiv Sena corporator Rahul Kalate said.

The local residents have been pushing for a water filtration plant on the site. “This is because water is lifted from the Pavana river in Ravet area which is very close to Punawale. However, the filtered water reaches Punawale after taking a long route of 28 km. Due to this, there is constant low pressure water in areas like Punawale, Wakad, Thergaon, Kalewadi and Pimple Nilakh. The water woes of these areas will reduce to a great extent if the PCMC goes for a filtration plant rather than a garbage dump,” Kalate said.

Malode added, “Several residential societies in Punawale area have strongly opposed the PCMC’s bid to set up the garbage dump in the area. For one, there is no clarity about it. Secondly, PCMC has not taken the residents into confidence and thirdly, the civic body has not even told us how it is going to manage the garbage load. If the movement of vehicles scatters garbage on the roads, it will affect the health of the residents and spread a stink all over.”

Sumit Jawalekar, another local resident, said, “Though we are not against development, we are worried about the management of the garbage. Ideally, we would prefer a garbage treatment and processing plant rather than just a garbage dump which is fraught with health risks.”

Jawalekar said the residents have been opposing the setting up of the garbage dump for long. “Last year, nearly 300 representatives of 25 residential societies had held a meeting and opposed the plan. We had submitted a memorandum to the officials who had come to carry out the measurement of the proposed depot. We will continue to oppose the plan,” he said.

Meanwhile, in February, the PCMC had said that it has decided to set up four waste transfer stations in a bid to ensure better scientific management of the over 1,000 tonne solid waste that is generated in the industrial city. The stations will be set up at Nigdi, Thergaon, Kasarwadi and Sangvi.

“The new waste transfer stations will ensure better handling of the garbage. As of now, garbage is manually transferred from small vehicles to the big ones and then transferred to the Moshi garbage depot. After the stations are set up, the garbage will be shifted from smaller vehicles in a scientific manner and carried to the garbage depot,” said Sanjay Kulkarni.

The latest plan of the PCMC is among a slew of them which the civic body has unfolded for effective management of solid waste which, officials said, was increasingly posing a serious challenge to them.

“An additional garbage dump will help in effective solid waste management as well reduce the headache of transportation,” a civic official said.

Next Week: How Pune Municipal Corporation is able to handle its waste more efficiently

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