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SMC to generate gas from dumping site

Wednesday, 27 August 2014 11:23 administrator
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The Times of India       27.08.2014 

SMC to generate gas from dumping site

SURAT: Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has decided to rejuvenate a part of the 40 hectare of land that it uses as dumping site at Khajod. This piece of land has become infertile as 1,400 tonnes of all types of waste is being dumped there daily for the past 10 years.

SMC has invited consultancy offers from private parties either to compost manure or generate gas from the waste by drilling the dumping site.

The SMC started dumping its waste at the landfill site at Khajod in 2002. About 4 lakh tonnes of waste was generated in just four days during the 2006 floods in the city.

"We used to dump the collected waste till 2012 by digging huge holes into the land. After 2012 we have begun throwing our waste into the landfill sites," said EAH Pathan, executive engineer, solid waste, SMC.

Dumping waste by digging holes into the ground is called cruel dumping. This method has turned the 40 hectare of land useless.

SMC plans to rejuvenate at least 25 hectare of land. "We plan to re-use this land and would like to generate either manure or gas from the waste there," Pathan said. There is plan to create a green belt too in some part of the landfill site.

So far, no local body in the country has attempted to rejuvenate its landfill sites. SMC would be the first one to do so whenever it launches this project, sources said.

"We have invited consultancy offers from private parties. We are hopeful of launching the project by the end of this financial year," a SMC official said.

 

Last Updated on Wednesday, 27 August 2014 11:26
 

SMC to launch smart Surat pilot project in December

Wednesday, 27 August 2014 11:21 administrator
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The Times of India       27.08.2014   

SMC to launch smart Surat pilot project in December

SURAT: Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has decided to start a pilot project by December 2014 for real time integration of basic infrastructural sectors like water supply, sewerage, transportation and solid waste management. This is a first step towards making Surat a smart city.

A workshop was held in the city on Tuesday in this regard. It was attended by experts from technical institutes, agencies and SMC officials.

"We have got many suggestions from experts on how to integrate and incorporate data into our core services so that they become more efficient and effective," said Jatin Shah, city engineer, SMC.

The SMC has already given work for preparing a GIS-based application to Antriksh.

Vikram Patel, principal, SVBIT Engineering College, Gandhinagar, who is an expert in structural engineering; Dr Hitesh Chinkanlwala, an expert in data mining; Dr Ashish Jani, an expert in cell phone application; Haren Shah, an expert in ICT and e?governance; Parth Shah, an expert in ICT and embedded systems and Dr Priti Garg, professor and head of department of public administration of Veer Narmad South Gujarat University (VNSGU), were among those who attended the workshop.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 27 August 2014 11:22
 

PMC in haste to relocate vendors to footpaths: NSCC

Wednesday, 27 August 2014 11:16 administrator
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The Times of India       27.08.2014  

PMC in haste to relocate vendors to footpaths: NSCC

PUNE: Members of the town vending committee appointed by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to facilitate and implement the National Policy on Urban Street Vendors have alleged that the civic body was being hasty in relocating hawkers to footpaths, despite opposition from citizens.

The National Society for Clean Cities (NSCC) has four members on the town vending panel. NSCC president Satish Khot has said in a letter to the municipal commissioner, "We notice that the PMC is being rather hasty in relocating hawkers to existing footpaths (even if they are wide)

. You are well aware that the roads and streets of the city are already overburdened with unmanageable traffic. Most parts of old Pune have almost no footpaths or parking spaces. Encroachments have already heavily eaten into the space on footpaths, even without relocating vendors. Taking into account the growing population and the need of wider footpaths ten years later, footpaths should be the last option to relocate hawkers."

The NSCC has demanded that the PMC should instead take urgent steps to acquire amenity spaces and open plots as per the development plan of 1987. "The existing ?ota' markets/shops need to be utilized first. At present, most of the ?ota' markets are full of illegal occupants, and the hawkers are pushed back on roads. The PMC must remove these illegal occupants," the society has said.

It added that some PMC properties have been allotted to organizations that conduct activities that are not beneficial or essential to citizens. These properties can be vacated and used to relocate vendors.

The TVC members said that waste generated by vendors will eventually land up on roads and footpaths, unless efficiently handled. Similarly, toilets and drinking water facilities must be arranged for vendors, close to their allocated spots. The civic body must plan a solid waste management system for hawkers' zones before allocating spaces to vendors.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 27 August 2014 11:19
 
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