Chandigarh MC to take over Jaypee-run waste plant in a week - Hindustan Times
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Chandigarh MC to take over Jaypee-run waste plant in a week

Hindustan Times, Chandigarh | By, Chandigarh
Mar 05, 2020 12:55 AM IST

The civic body decides against dismantling the existing plant, plans to upgrade it

Amending its last week’s decision on Jaypee-run waste processing plant in Dadumajra, the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC)’s special General House on Wednesday decided to take over the plant within a week of serving the termination notice. MC commissioner KK Yadav said the notice will be served either on Thursday or Friday.

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The civic body, however, will not immediately dismantle the existing plant and move towards replacing it with a new plant as decided in the meeting last week.

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It has been decided that the MC or the third party hired by the civic body will run the plant and explore possibilities of upgrade to new technology for which a separate process to invite expression of interest will start within the next few days.

The setting up of a new plant will be the last resort, the House resolved.

MC commissioner KK Yadav said that the civic body will rope in experts either from IIT Delhi or Roorkee to examine the plant’s existing condition.

“It will be done to find out the plant’s internal strength and take appropriate decision regarding upgrade at a later stage. In case the experts find that the entire machinery is defunct, we will have no option but to set up a new plant,” he said.

The expert report will be tabled in the next General House meeting later this month, said Yadav.

60 LAKH PER MONTH RUNNING COST

MC commissioner KK Yadav told the House that the plant’s monthly running cost will not be less 50 lakh to 60 lakh. Besides, there may be need to spend heavy capital expenditure on upgrade.

To this, the House resolved unanimously to seek special grant from the administration for the plant’s running cost and further upgrade.

Yadav added, “Once the MC takes over the plant, we will immediately depute one SDO, two JEs and 60 helpers to run the plant. We will try to hire an external agency to operate it. If no one turns up, we will continue to run it till the time it is upgraded to the new technology,” he said.

WHAT LED TO REVISION?

MC revised the decision after UT administration intervened earlier this week and said that the existing plant should not be immediately shut down as there are several technical complications, including environmental clearance and mandatory consent of area residents, in starting a new plant. Apart from it, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) from April 1 has already decided to impose 10 lakh per month on civic bodies that are not processing waste. Adviser Manoj Parida was of the view that waste processing will turn nil if the existing plant is dismantled. The MC chief said that Jaypee is processing not more than 20% of the city’s daily generation. We will try to improve it once we take over its possession,” he said.

NO WORD ON PAYING JAYPEE

The House did not take any decision on paying the plant’s current market value. The MC chief said that in case the firm asks for it, we will bring the matter in the next House. MC councillor-cum-BJP chief Arun Sood said that in case the MC needs to pay Jaypee, it will be done by deducting environment penalties that MC and CPCC recently imposed on it.

BJP, CONGRESS SPAR OVER MESS

Councillors of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress blamed each other for the mess over the Jaypee group-run garbage processing plant in Dadumajra.

The situation turned ugly when leader of opposition Devinder Babla alleged that an internal meeting between BJP and Jaypee in a hotel had led to delusion in the General House’s last week’s decision, in which it was decided to dismantle the plant immediately.

Mayor Raj Bala Malik turned to Babla and asked him to produce evidence to support his claim.

She literally shouted at him, asking him to abstain from personal allegation. “Maine kabhi rishwat nahi khai,” Malik told Babla who too responded, saying that he too will not tolerate BJP councillors calling him corrupt.

“I will expose all BJP councillors if they make misleading allegations against me,” said Babla, prompting treasury benches to stand from their seats and shout at him.

BJP councillor Shakti Prakash Devshali said that the agreement with Jaypee was signed during the Congress tenure and that no verification of the firm’s credentials was done before roping them in.

“Lamhon ne khata ki, sadiyon ne sazaa paai,” he quipped over Congress on the garbage plant issue.

To this, Babla asked, “Was it because of the Congress that the big mountain of garbage has come up at dumping ground.”

He said that the BJP was doing politics even as they could not rein over Jaypee in their last three years of rule.

Meanwhile, MC chief KK Yadav said there was no favour to anyone in the revised decision. He said that changes were made in the earlier decision to make sure that the MC was on the right side of the law and can better handle the city’s waste management.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Vivek Gupta is a senior correspondent at Chandigarh. He covers Panchkula, besides writing on medical education.

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