The Pioneer 05.05.2013
Brahmapur civic body to have waste mgt plant
The Brahmapur Municipal Corporation (BMC) at a special general body meeting of the council on Friday discussed deterioration of the existing sanitation, cleaning, and solid waste management system in the city.
The council discussed the proposed construction of a solid waste management plant at Mohuda on the outskirt of the city. To appraise the members about the technical feasibility and the benefit of such a plant, a team of three officers of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Tamali Ganguli, Sanjukta Sarkar and Tapan Sen, were present.
The IFC team urged the Corporators to educate the public through awareness programmes in their wards for a better, secured sanitation and waste management system.
The council arrived at a consensus to prepare a blueprint and a detailed project report for establishment of the proposed solid waste management plant (SWMP) in PPP mode at Mohuda soon at an estimated cost of Rs 70 crore.
It may be mentioned that under the existing waste management system, the BMC produces 136 metric tonnes of solid wastes everyday causing pollutants, thereby posing a threat to the city’s environment.
The BMC had earlier decided to establish a solid waste management plant near Chandania Hill, for which it had received a Central assistance of more than Rs 11 crore during the tenure of the last council. When the council’s Opposition members had then demanded early establishment of the SWMP, the BMC constructed only the compound wall of the plant.
When the BMC came to know, after testing of water in the lab, that the solid wastes which pollute the groundwater in the Chandania Hill area may cause serious health hazards, the project was kept in abeyance keeping the public interest in view, said BMC sources. As a result, the Central assistance remains unspent for about four years.
The failure of Chandania Hill project has now forced the BMC to select Mohuda as a viable alternate for establishment of the plant at a cost of Rs 70 crore.
The task of estimating the total solid wastes produced in the city and preparation of a detailed project report for establishment of the plant at Mohuda has been entrusted to the IFC. According to an insider, the IFC team which visited the city expressed its concern and displeasure over the bulks of solid wastes lying un-lifted on the roads.
After the detailed project report is submitted to the BMC by the IFC, steps would be taken to establish the plant at Mohuda on the PPP mode through open tender, said sources. After the plant is made functional, the drained out waste water of the plant could be well utilised for farming, said a technical officer.
BMC Mayor Siba Shankar Das presided over the council meeting. Among others, BMC Commissioner Dr Ajit Mishra and other officers, a majority of the Corporators and the IFC team participated in the deliberations.
