Indian Express 24.11.2009
Civic body to send bins underground for better hygiene
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has decided shift all garbage dumps in the city underground. The move comes in view of beautification of the Capital ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
Officials feel this will also ensure hygienic garbage collection.
According to MCD officials, bids for the ‘deep waste collection system’ were closed in September this year and a Finnish firm has been short-listed. The move is now waiting for the Standing Committee nod.
The MCD has identified 28 locations in the City zone and the Sadar Paharganj zone, considering their proximity to Games venues, where the bins will be installed. As part of the first phase of the project, the civic body will procure 67 bins from Finland at the cost of Rs. 3.25 lakh per bin.
Each of these bins will be 9 feet deep. While three feet of the bin will be above the ground level to enable dumping, the rest of it will be underground and the mouth of these bins will have lids modeled on “letter boxes”.
Each of these bins will have a capacity of two to three tonnes. The MCD already uses mechanised cranes to collect garbage and according to officials, instead of using the mechanism on ground, the garbage will be lifted out of the underground dump.
The first phase of the project will be ready for use by March next year, an official said.
“It is possible that getting the project approved by the Standing Committee might take time. Hence, we will get an anticipatory approval from the Mayor and begin work soon. Initially, we will install these underground bins around Games sites, hotels and guesthouses,” he said.
The MCD also has plans to package garbage in recyclable material and compress it for storing. This will then be disposed at the plant in Jaipur.
Delhi currently generates 6,000 tonnes of solid waste every day.
The MCD currently has a door-to-door collection system for Civil Lines and Rohini zone. In this system separate auto-tippers collect bio-degradable and non bio-degradable waste from colonies, thus, doing away with garbage dumps in the area.
