Garbage dumping: Noida authority turns focus on waste management

National Green Tribunal (NGT) order banning dumping of garbage at a vacant plot in Sector 138A on October 10. Since the landfill site in Greater Noida’s Astoli is not ready for dumping solid waste, the authority is now looking for alternate arrangements

Noida: After the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order banning dumping of garbage at a vacant plot in Sector 138A, the Noida authority is struggling to find a suitable landfill site for disposal of solid waste. Authority’s additional chief executive officer (ACEO) RK Mishra said they are evaluating the options available.

Heaps of garbage appearing on empty plots, like this under-construction metro station, is a common sight in Noida, which does not have a landfill to dump its solid waste. (HT File)

On October 10, a principal bench of the NGT, headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar, passed an interim order directing the Noida authority to not dump waste at Sector 138A. A resident of Sector 137 had, through a petition, objected to the dumping activity. Petitioner Gaurav Choudhary said the illegal dumping of waste posed pollution and health risks to over half a dozen housing complexes located in Sector 137 which is near the land Noida authority was using.

“We are yet to receive the written order from NGT on the Sector 138A dumping site. But if the NGT has banned dumping of waste at this site, we will dump the waste somewhere else. We have a couple of sites in mind. We will soon finalise one,” Mishra said.

“The landfill site in Greater Noida’s Astoli is not ready to treat solid waste from Noida and Greater Noida. Therefore, we are working to develop a small waste treatment facility in Sector 123, where we can treat waste with the help of a private agency, which will be hired soon,” Mishra said.

The authority is planning to set up a waste treatment plant at Sector 123, where it has earmarked around 20 acres of land for the purpose.

“The authority cannot dump solid waste at Sector 123. In 2015, the NGT had stayed dumping of municipal solid waste there after residents objected,” Noida authority’s senior project engineer Raghunandan Yadav said.

We can, however, set up a waste treatment plant in Sector 123 because it does emanate foul smell. We need only 10-15 acres of land for waste-to-energy plants, he said.

The authority has begun the process to select two private agencies to treat city’s solid waste and construction material.

On October 7, the authority saw presentations from 15 private agencies that are interested in treating solid waste. “We will select an agency that will use the latest technology and share revenue generated from recycling waste. We are completing the formalities,” said Mishra.

The authority is, however, facing problems in selection of an agency to treat construction waste.

“We floated tender to select an agency to be hired for construction material treatment and opened the applications on October 5. But only one agency applied for the job. We cannot select one agency until three more apply. So, we will float the tender again,” he said.