Urban News

Capping the garbage at Uruli Devachi and Phursungi depot and generating energy from methane produced is expected to take a couple of years, but the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited ( IL&FS ) has already submitted a draft Detailed Project Report (DPR). The final report is likely to be presented this week.

District Collector Chandrakant Dalvi and civic officials including Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Zagade, additional commissioner M S Devnikar and others had met the villagers a fortnight back to discuss the garbage depot.

“Days before the meeting, we received the draft DPR from IL&FS. The work order for preparation of the DPR had been given to IL&FS last November. Among others, they carried out a topographic survey. The team made 25 holes in the dumping ground and collected soil samples for analysis. It took about four months, ending March, for the team to collect the data,” Suresh Jagtap, PMC deputy commissioner said.

About 30 acres would be required for the project. Acquiring land and setting up the unit to start generating electricity would take at least a-year-and-a-half. We have received the draft DPR. The final report should come this week. Once it arrives, we will be able to put the proposal before the standing committee and the tender can be floated after the general body nod,” he said, adding, “The draft DPR mentions the approximate cost, geo-technical feasibility, topographic profile and aesthetics.”

The authorities have been claiming that from June, the open dumping of garbage will be stopped. The garbage would be directly sent for processing. The deadline the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had given to villagers in a meeting last November, was May-end. They have promised open dumping would be stopped from June 1...,” said a member of the Garbage Depot Hatao Samiti.