‘BMC had cheaper, better options’

Despite repeated warnings, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) seems to have turned a blind eye towards a potential environmental disaster at Deonar dumping ground. The civic body rejected a much cheaper but effective bio-mining and waste stabilisation methods and instead opted for the expensive garbage capping process, which have now started showing its adverse effect, a noted environmentalist has said.

There are 12.7 million metric tonnes of solid waste that have been lying at the Deonar dumping ground since its inception in 1927. Frequent fires at the dumpsite have been posing grave health hazards for the citizens living in surrounding areas.

Noted environmentalist Almitra Patel told The Asian Age she had cautioned the BMC time and again about the potential hazards at the Deonar ground. But instead of going for eco-friendly and low-cost alternatives, officials went for the capping project, which was almost 400 times costlier than these methods, she said.

The Banglore-based Mrs Patel said bio-mining method is simple, low-cost and effective to permanently eliminate the generation of greenhouse gases from landfills. It involves the removal of old waste in layers for bio-treatment, windrowing and productive use. Loosened layers of old waste are sprayed with composting bio-cultures and then formed into conventional aerobic wind-rows. The waste is thus sterilised, stabilised and volume minimised.

“Bio-mining would have cost just Rs 13 crore when proposed in 2009. It was successfully pioneered at Gorai, but was not pursued apparently because it’s low cost. Instead, capping was being pushed as an attractively expensive option by the decision-makers,” she said.