Indian Express 11.12.2010
Dumping grounds to be mandatory in DC rules
The state government will introduce reservation for dumping grounds in the development plans (DP) and also make provision for such dumping grounds in the Development Control (DC) rules.
Replying to a calling attention motion in the Assembly, Minister of State for Urban Development Bhaskar Jadhav said the government decision followed a realisation that garbage disposal and management were going to be crucial with the expansion of cities.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had almost completed acquiring land at five spots identified for landfill sites. “We have taken this issue of solid waste management seriously and we will be starting work on these five sites soon.”
In a written reply, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said the 20 lakh population of Thane city generated around 650 tonnes of garbage. The garbage was now being dumped at a private 10-acre land near Khardi as the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) did not have any dumping ground.
The government had identified three plots — one each in Bhayander, Sheel and Daighar. However, Daighar residents opposed the dumping ground plan in 2007 as the approach road and dumping ground facilities were being erected.
Chavan said the government was yet to acquire land in the other two locations. A request had been made to Navi Mumbai commissioner to give land for a dumping ground for Thane, but there had been no response yet, he added.
Power from waste: 11 projects underway in Pune
Eleven small projects, aimed at generating electricity from waste, are underway in Pune district. “We will encourage such projects in other parts of the city as well,” Minister Bhaskar Jadhav said.
