VMC plans bioremediation of 4L metric tonnes legacy waste

The standing committee, which will meet this week on Friday, will deliberate over the proposal that seeks to implement the bioremediation of legacy waste as per the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.




The Solid Waste Management Department of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has proposed bioremediation of about four lakh metric tonnes (MT) of legacy waste, at the open landfill in Makarpura, at a cost of Rs 33.68 crore. The civic body has sought the approval of the standing committee to execute the “extremely imperative” work.

The standing committee, which will meet this week on Friday, will deliberate over the proposal that seeks to implement the bioremediation of legacy waste as per the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. Bioremediation is a process for the safe treatment of legacy waste in pen landfills of the country, utilising various technologies.

The proposal states that after a tender was floated inviting Expression of Interest (EOI) for the project, three agencies were selected on the basis of their technical qualifications. However, only one agency — Tamil Nadu-based Zigma Global Environ Solutions Pvt Ltd — has put forth a bid amount.

“The company has proposed to execute the project at Rs 842 per mt of waste… The bid is 15.8% lower than the estimated bid of Rs 40 crore. It is imperative to complete the remediation of this legacy waste, which has been collected over a period of several years. The current size is approximately four lakh mt, but in case of increase in the size of the waste — as the landfill continues to be used for daily disposal — the contractor will have to complete any further remediation on the basis of the rate currently provided.”

The proposal further states that the project will ensure that about 4.5 hectares of the landfill site will be vacated for use. “The said agency has already successfully treated the legacy waste at Atladara through the process of bioremediation,” it states

The cash-strapped VMC has proposed to utilize its funds from the Swachch Bharat Mission’s capping and social upliftment component for the project cost.

Meanwhile, Congress Corporator Ami Ravat has questioned the proposal, stating that the landfill would currently have at least 19 lakh mt of waste.

“As per the VMC’s reply to my question, the daily waste collected is 1,050 mt. The waste for five years itself amounts to 19.16 lakh mt. Considering that the site was inaugurated in February 2010, the waste collected till now should be 32.85 lakh mt because about 300 mt was processed for the first five years and thereafter, the plant was not operational. Where is the remaining 28.5 lakh mt of waste? Did the corporation dispose of it without following procedures?” asked Ravat.

The land fill site was part of the first phase of Rs 30.98 crore landfill site project approved under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Rural Mission (JNNURM). Ravat said, “At present, the landfill site is handled unscientifically, which will decrease the life of the existing landfill. Vadodara will need a new landfill site within the next two to three years at this rate.”

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