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Ludhiana: Second phase of legacy waste’s bioremediation to begin soon
Ludhiana MC officials said the second phase of disposing of around 20 lakh metric tonnes of waste has entered the technical bidding stage
With the waste accumulated at the Tajpur dump site of the municipal corporation (MC) moulding into a ticking bomb due to regular fire incidents, authorities are yet to initiate the second phase of bioremediation of the legacy waste under which around 20 lakh metric tons of waste will be disposed of in a scientific manner.
The project has been in the news for the last few years with National Green Tribunal (NGT) and civil society members criticising the authorities’ failure to manage the solid waste. The tenders for the project were opened in November last year and no timeline has been fixed by the MC to start the project.
MC officials said the project has cleared the tendering round and has entered the technical bidding stage after which the contract for the same will be allotted to the successful company.
Spread over 50 acres, Tajpur dumpsite has around 25 lakh metric tons of waste. Under the first phase, the project to dispose off five lakh metric tons of legacy waste through the process was started in November last year.
The project for bioremediation of the remaining waste will be undertaken with the ₹100 crore allocated by the state government under the Swachh Bharat Mission. Ankur Mohindroo, MC joint commissioner, said, “The tender for the project to process around 20 metric tons of waste was put up and has reached the technical bidding round.” He added that after the evaluation round, the contracts will be allocated which is expected to happen soon.
Apart from the legacy waste which stands at over 25 lakh metric tons, daily 11,00 metric tons of waste collected from the commercial and residential establishments on a routine basis is also dumped at the site.
An MC official said technical evaluation for the 20 lakh metric-ton project will take around a month after which it will enter into the next round. The sources privy to the matter said that out of the total over 1 lakh metric tons of waste has been processed till now under the 5 lakh metric ton project. The project was inaugurated by the Punjab Local bodies minister Inderbir Singh Nijjar for which a deadline of 22 months was set.
civic body under NGT’s radar
In April last year, seven members of a family who lived in shanties near the dump were charred to death after a fire that broke out at the dump engulfed their hut while the victims, including five children were sleeping inside. The NGT had also imposed an interim compensation of ₹100 crore on the Ludhiana MC which was to be used for disposing of the waste.
Jasjit Singh Gill, an environmental activist, said waste both organic and inorganic has been collected in an unscientific manner due to which methane and other gases get trapped in mounds. He added that progressive steps should be taken by authorities with the involvement of residents to solve the problems of Punjab’s largest industrial city. Along with bioremediation, segregation of the waste which is collected on a regular basis should be made, he added.
