BMC to seek dumping plots within city limits

With the neighbouring cities ignoring the BMC’s repeated pleas to provide plots for dumping grounds, the civic body has been forced to look for these spots within the city limits only. The civic body has decided to ask for new plots for dump sites in the new development plan (DP) of the city. According to the civic officials, the dumping grounds in the city are running out of capacity. The situation has reached to a point where the BMC is facing a shortage of space to dump the silt extracted from its nullah-cleaning works. “We have asked for more dumping sites in the new development plan to be able to dump garbage and silt in future. We have identified the sites and informed the DP department about it,” said Prakash Patil, deputy municipal commissioner (solid waste management). However, he refused to reveal the spots. The BMC is in the process of drafting a new development plan for the city for the next 20 years from the year 2014. The DP is the land use map of the city. The BMC’s efforts to find space to dump garbage and silt in the nearby areas have also failed. None of the neighbouring civic bodies have responded positively to its plea that requested open plots to dump silt from the nullah-cleaning works. “We have written letters to all the neighbouring civic bodies like Thane, Kalyan-Dombivali, Navi Mumbai, Mira-Bhayander, and sought open places to throw the silt. However, not a single corporation has reverted,” said a civic official. Currently, there are three dumping grounds in the city — Deonar (4,000 MT), Mulund (1,500 MT) and Kanjurmarg (2,000 MT).