Mumbai: BMC mulls setting up small debris processing units

Workers clear debris on the Western Express Highway. File pic

As the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) plan to set up a big construction and demolition waste processing unit did not get much response from contractors over the past two years, the civic body has now decided to install three to four small units of 200 tonnes each for processing an average of 800 metric tonnes of debris that the city generates daily. Two proposals for awarding contracts for collection and transportation of debris to dumping grounds were tabled in the standing committee meeting on Wednesday.

The civic corporation usually spends crores of rupees to collect and transport debris from the city. During a discussion at the meeting, leader of opposition Ravi Raja raised a question about the huge amounts of money spent on debris collection. He said, "The civic body collects charges for lifting debris from private places but it is minimal. It is already facing a fund crunch and spending crores on such work will not be advisable." Congress corporator Asif Zakaria and Sena corporator Rajul Patel pointed out the same issue.

Sanjeev Jaiswal, additional commissioner of the BMC, told the committee that even though the cost of collecting and transporting debris was huge, BMC had no option but to deal with it. "The proposal for setting up the construction and demolition waste processing unit is under consideration and will soon be sent to the committee," he said. Jaiswal added that he had set up one such unit at Thane when he was the commissioner there.

Construction and demolition waste comprises a wide variety of materials including concrete, metals, timber, ceramics, soil, plaster, asphalt and polymers. According to the Construction and Demolition Waste Management rules notified in 2016, the concerned department should provide a suitable site for setting up the storage, processing and recycling facilities.

The project was started in Delhi in 2009 and many other cities implemented the same. The BMC has been looking for a contractor to set up the unit since the past two years. There was a provision of '7 crore in the 2018-19 budget but the civic body didn't get a contractor.

Speaking to mid-day, additional commissioner and in-charge of Solid Waste Management, Suresh Kakani said, "The plants set up in other parts of the country are smaller in size. We invited tenders for the same last year, but no one came forward to develop a big project. So now we are inviting tenders for small units like about three to four of 200 tonnes each. The plots on which the units will be set up may be located in the eastern or western suburbs." He further said that the tenders would be floated within a week.