Rs 50 crore budget provision proposed for capping garbage dump

PUNE: The civic administration has proposed a provision of Rs 50 crore in 2011-12 civic budget for capping the Phursungi-Urali Devachi landfill site.

In the proposal placed before the City Improvement Committee (CIC), the civic administration has stated that the PMC has made a provision of Rs 21 crore in the budget for current financial year.

"The Detailed Project Report (DPR) on the capping has been submitted by Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL& FS). As per the DPR, a provision of Rs 89.76 crore is required for the capping. Also, the PMC needs to make a provision of around Rs 1- 1.5 crore every year for its maintenance," stated the civic administration.

The PMC plans to float a global tender for the capping on the lines of Gorai landfill site in Mumbai, which was capped after a global tender was floated two years ago.

The total area of the twin landfill sites at Phursungi and Urali Devachi is 165 acres, of which the Hanjer processing plant occupies 65 acres and three acres are occupied by the carcass plant. Eleven acres were capped a few years ago and 50 to 55 acres of garbage-filled land remain to be scientifically capped.

Capping prevents groundwater contamination by stopping rainwater from percolating through buried garbage, which creates leachate, a liquid by-product of the waste. Scientific capping comprises bio-mining, cutting off drains, provision of geo-membrane, methane gas trapping and reduction and compacting of garbage height.

On June 1, the civic body had claimed that it had completely stopped open dumping of garbage, as promised to the villagers of Urali Devachi. The villagers were protesting against open dumping of waste and were assured by the PMC that it would cease from June 1, 2010.