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Set up integrated waste plant for 15 not 25 years, say Chandigarh mayor, councillors
This suggestion was made during a meeting of the high-power committee constituted by the Chandigarh administration to frame the project proposal.
The new integrated waste management plant proposed to come up at Dadumajra should be set up for 15 and not 25 years in view of constantly changing technologies.
This suggestion was made during a meeting of the high-power committee constituted by the UT administration to frame the project proposal.
The meeting, which was chaired by UT adviser Dharam Pal, was attended by mayor Anup Gupta, and member-councillors Gurbax Rawat (Congress), Hardeep Singh (SAD) and Kuldeep Dhalor (AAP) for the first time after their inclusion in the committee.
Several suggestions were made by councillors, but the final decision on the project will be taken during a special municipal corporation House meeting on June 6.
The mayor and the three councillors were included in the high-powered committee after the MC House, during the May 13 meeting, turned down civic body’s proposal of setting up the plant at the Dadumajra landfill for leaving the mayor out of the panel.
In 2021, IIT Ropar was appointed as technical consultant for setting up the new waste processing plant, whereas in August 2022, the administration had constituted the high-powered committee for technology finalisation.
Originally, the committee members were UT adviser, local government secretary, finance secretary, environment director, MC commissioner, MC chief engineer, MC superintendent engineer, municipal officer of health, and representatives from NEERI and IIT Ropar.
Mayor Anup Gupta said, “The meeting on Friday remained fruitful, as we suggested some changes in the project proposal. It was suggested to cut the project time frame from 25 to 15 years so that new companies can come up with new technologies. The adviser considered the suggestions and the final nod will be given in the House meeting.”
“The Congress suggested that the plant should be first set up for five years and extensions can be given to the firm if the garbage processing is satisfactory. However, it was mutually decided to cut the time frame from 25 to 15 years. We also suggested that the pre-bid meetings should be chaired by the high-level committee itself so that the project can be handed over to private firm in a transparent manner and changes in the request for proposal (RFP), if any, can be made by the panel,” said Congress councillor Gurbax Rawat.
She added, “We also suggested hiring a team of engineers who can supervise the working of the private firm during the project implementation period. Also, suggestions were made to include the mayor in the ‘dispute redressal committee’, along with the MC commissioner, so that any disputes with the private firm can be resolved in future.”
Plant should come up in city’s periphery: AAP
AAP councillor Kuldeep Dhanor, however, suggested that the plant should not be set up at Dadumajra and should be shifted to an area in Chandigarh’s periphery. “The panel was apprised that environmental and other clearances have been received for the Dadumajra site, but AAP will stick to its request of shifting the plant site.”
Aimed at effectively tackling the city’s daily waste generation of 550 metric tonnes (MT), the new plant, with a capacity of 600 tonnes per day, is proposed to comprise three facilities – one each for dry, wet and horticulture waste.
Spread over 20 acres, it will be set up on a part of the Dadumajra landfill after clearing the area and as per current proposal, the project will be allotted for a total of 27 years, including two years for construction, and 25 years for operation and maintenance.
Currently, most of city’s daily solid waste is dumped at the Dadumajra landfill without processing, leading to mountains of waste. Notably, MC’s failure to run the solid waste processing plant efficiently has been among the reasons for Chandigarh’s poor show in the last few Swachh Survekshan rankings, and was also a central issue during the 2021 MC elections.
