Come December, garbage collection vehicles will head for new Adampur Chhawni dump site on the outskirts of the city instead of Bhanpur garbage dumping site, announced Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday.
An attempt at scientific closure of Bhanpur plant and delays in construction of new plant to dispose of waste in Adampur, could mean city would have two dumping sites and add to more environmental harm, allege activists. On Saturday, BMC commissioner Priyanka Das and former CM and MLA Babulal Gaur visited the Bhanpur dump site.
Later, activists met BMC mayor Alok Sharma to apprise him of the situation.
Plans have been drawn from converting the approximately 40-acre waste dump at Bhanpur into a green belt in five years. BMC additional commissioner MP Singh confirmed that technical proposals to change the city scape of dumping ground and reuse the area would be completed in next few weeks.
The civic body move came after it missed its deadline to stop dumping waste at Bhanpur site. National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the BMC to clean dump at Bhanpur, which activists claim is 80 feet high and has polluted ground water up to 500 metres below. Bhanpur has been a trenching ground for four decades and now poses a health to the population.
The move to stop dumping at Bhanpur would once again shift focus at new landfill and proposed municipal solid waste (MSW) dumping and disposal site, Adampur Chhawni, some 12 km from the city. The same site has been in the news with local population opposing, construction of slaughterhouse adjacent to the MSW plant.
Bid to construct and operate MSW plant has been allotted to a private contractor. However, construction of plant that would not require segregation of waste and produce 21 MW of electricity, would take two years. Rather than being dumped in a landfill, new technology will allow generating electricity – with the theoretical possibility to power 25,000 households. Dump site will also get waste from Sehore, Ashta, Mandideep and surrounding areas.
In the past, local population in Adampur opposed construction of MSW waste to energy plant in their village.
Bhopal produces around 800 MT of waste every day. The state government announced a Rs 415 crore project. As per intial MP urban administration and housing department (UAHD) assessment construction of the plant at Adampur should have been completed in 9 months and power supply commence later.
As per the smart city plan, the BMC has proposed to reduce city’s carbon footprint by 10% in a decade by promoting green technologies. Bhopal would also receive assistance from the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) for its solid waste management project.
BMC plan to dispose waste
To create a forest area takes around 65 years to develop. Using new techniques BMC attempts to achieve the same in five to seven years.
400 plus new garbage collection vehicles taking garbage to the new Adampur dump site on the outskirts of the city. No segregation of waste would be needed and all end product would be maximum of 21 MW of electricity.
12 waste dump and collecting sites in Bhopal are leading to more pollution, allege green activists
Pvt contractor appointed to collect and dispose city waste claims – no human touch will be required. Our garbage collection vehicles drive into the facility, the bin will tilt and dump the waste. All that remains will be ash.
BMC claims providing water too affected by 35 houses
BMC officials claimed out of the 2,100 homes in seven localities affected by water contamination, only 35 homes did not get piped water connection. After a tour of the affected area and allegations of water contamination from localities surrounding Bhanpur garbage dump site, BMC said it would hold special camp to provide Narmada water connections. Activists allege that heavy metals and other pollutants in the area contaminated water in and around Bhanpur. The BMC has also banned use of boring and hand pumps in the area. The civic body has been directed to test water in the area and produce laboratory reports with the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
Close dumping site near Lower Lake: Activist
In a letter to UAHD principal sectary, activist Abdul Jabbar has demanded that Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) waste dumping and collection site at Yaadgar-e-Shahjehani Park be closed. The site is one of 12 such locations utilised by the BMC to collect waste from nearby colonies and later it is sent to Bhanpur. Jabbar alleged that Lower Lake is a Ramsar site and Yaadgar-e-Shahjehani Park has been utilised for dumping waste. He alleged that burning of waste has affected the local population and patients in nearby Sultania hospital – the largest maternity government hospital in Madhya Pradesh. When contacted, BMC officials said the site was not in the green area and the state government allotted the land.
