PUNE: The Shiv Sena
on Monday demanded that the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s
(PCMC) project of converting plastic waste into fuel should be scrapped
as it has not achieved much success. The project has been operational
since the last six years at the municipal corporation’s garbage depot.

In a letter sent to municipal commissioner Shrikar Pardeshi, Shiv Sena
corporator Seema Savale said that only about 35,000 litres of fuel has
been generated in the past six years. The PCMC gets Re 1 for every litre
of fuel produced in the project. The corporation, in the last six
years, has received just Rs 35,000 from the contractor when it was
supposed to get Rs 3.31 crore. The corporation should, therefore, scrap
the project, she said.

Savale said that the contractor was
supposed to install a plant to process 25 tonnes of plastic waste every
day. The corporation has given Rs 2 crore to the contractor and allotted
five acres of land on lease for a period of 30 years at a nominal rent
of Rs 1,000 per annum. The plant processes just 1.5 tonnes of waste per
day, she said.

Savale alleged that the harmful gases generated
from the unit are released into the air directly causing pollution and
affecting the health of residents. This resulted in violation of the
Environment Protection Act, Air Pollution Control Act and Plastic
Garbage (management and handling) Act, she added.

When
contacted, Sanjay Kulkarni, executive engineer of PCMC’s environment
department, said, “The contractor has been directed to enhance the
production capacity of the unit. The trial run of an additional unit is
in progress. Once this unit becomes operational, the total capacity of
the units will increase to five tonnes per day. The civic body has
recovered Rs two crore from the contractor.”