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NCP joins protest against proposed garbage depot at Punawale
The Pimpri Chinchwad unit of Sharad Pawar-led NCP claimed the civic body had invited bids for the contract to construct the Waste to Energy (WTE) project at the garbage depot at Moshi for ₹350 crore
After a series of protests and demonstrations by area residents of Punawale and Pimpri-Chinchwad Cooperative Societies Federation (PCCSF) members, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is opposing the proposed garbage depot by Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) at Punawale.
The Pimpri Chinchwad unit of Sharad Pawar-led NCP claimed the civic body had invited bids for the contract to construct the Waste to Energy (WTE) project at the garbage depot at Moshi for ₹350 crore. During the inauguration of the project, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that this project can process 1,500 tons of waste daily. Currently, 1,300 tons of waste is processed and the daily capacity to process 200 tons of waste remains unutilized. However, the project is still being pushed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA with a vested interest in peril for the citizens.
The NCP party members said PCMC a few months back had invited bids to award a contract for implementing the first phase of the bio-mining project at Moshi garbage depot to process 8 lakh cubic meters of garbage for ₹47 crore. The civic body is conducting a pre-tender process for the proposed second phase of the bio-mining project at Moshi garbage depot to process 14 lakh cubic meters of garbage at an estimated cost of ₹125 crore. Interestingly, PCMC despite implementing these projects at the Moshi garbage depot is still insisting on setting up a new garbage depot at Punawale.
PCMC had reserved a 65-acre plot for a garbage depot in Punawale in the development plan (DP) in 2008. After that, it should have created a non-development zone in a 500-meter radius of this plot. But PCMC gave building permission for constructing residential and commercial buildings to big and small builders in areas around this reserved plot. As a result, a large number of residential projects have come up around the reserved plot in adjacent areas in Punawale, Tathawade, Wakad and other areas in PCMC limits and neighbouring villages of Hinjewadi, Mamurdi and Jambhe. Lakhs of people living in these areas will be affected due to the proposed Punawale garbage depot.
Tushar Kamthe, NCP city president of NCP, alleged that BJP MLA is supporting his relative to the peril of citizens and PCMC is also working to create the garbage depot at the peril of citizens. “If IT employees lose their jobs, they won’t be able to pay their EMIs and this will affect families of lakhs of IT sector employees. If the IT companies shift out of Hinjewadi IT Park, then thousands of villagers of areas will be affected. The NCP began a chain hunger strike on Thursday (7) at PCMC’s main office to oppose the decision to set up a garbage depot at Punawale. The strike will continue daily from 10 am to 6 pm till December 11,” he said.
