State mulls shifting dumping ground from Kanjurmarg to Ambernath

State industries minister Uday Samant assured that a probe would be conducted into the failure of the odourless waste-to-energy project at Kanjurmarg

Mumbai: The state government is considering shifting the dumping ground from Kanjurmarg to Ambernath and the process of acquiring an 18-acre plot for the new dumping ground has been initiated, state industries minister Uday Samant said in the assembly on Thursday. He also assured that a probe would be conducted into the failure of the odourless waste-to-energy project at Kanjurmarg and strict action would be taken against errant officials.

HT Image

Samant was replying to a calling attention motion raised by Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA from Vikhroli Sunil Raut, who said that residents of the eastern suburbs were harrowed with the stench from the Kanjurmarg dumping ground, which handles 80% of the city’s waste. He also demanded that the dumping ground be shifted elsewhere.

In response, Samant said that the government was thinking about shifting the dumping ground out of Kanjurmarg. “The process for acquiring an 18-acre plot at Ambernath for a new dumping ground has been started. The BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) will also be directed to discuss solutions with Sunil Raut, the local MLA,” he said.

Following Samant’s statement, BJP MLA Ashish Shelar and Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Sunil Prabhu alleged that though the BMC had claimed it was setting up a bioreactor in Kanjurmarg for an odorless waste-to-energy project, there was no let up in the stench from the dumping ground, indicating the project had failed. The MLAs also demanded action against the BMC and the concerned firm for making false promises.