Urban News

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.

Indian Express 23.11.2009

Ghazipur abattoir: MCD to rope in private player

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has decided to lease operation and maintenance of the newly built rendering plant at the Ghazipur abattoir to private players for a period of five years.

The civic body has invited bids for an open auction that will be held later this month.

Senior MCD officials after the bidding process the appointed contractor would pay a monthly lease rent to the MCD.

The state-of-the-art slaughterhouse at Ghazipur has a modern rendering plant — a processing unit to convert waste animal tissue into value-added materials like poultry meal.

“The move will help MCD earn revenue and do away with the problem of animal carcasses thrown in open, which can cause health hazards. This will help prevent spread of diseases,” MCD Director (Veterinary Services) R B S Tyagi said.

“The waste animal tissue will be processed at the plant in a scientific way to generate by-products, from which the private firm will make its profits,” he said.

Tyagi said the meat traders, who were earlier opposed to shifting to the new abattoir at Ghazipur, are now cooperating with the civic agency and normal slaughtering activities have started at the abattoir.