Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Sanctions ₹86 Crore To Solve Landfill Crisis In Aurangabad

Mumbai: For over 10 days, 43-year-old Mitali Patil, a resident of Naregaon village would visit the nearby trenching ground sharp at 9 in the morning without fail. In her agitation for the poor apathy of garbage, she was joined by hundreds of other villagers. Exactly a month later, the protests finally came to end with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis sanctioning Rs 86.21 crore to solve the mounting garbage crisis in Aurangabad. A Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be chalked out to scientifically manage the waste disposal problem in three stages within a year he said.

The protests by citizens began after, the 10 to 20 lakh cubic meters of untreated waste at Naregaon dumpyard led to serious health and hazards. Aurangabad generates 430 metric tonnes of garbage everyday which is dumped at a landfill located within Naregaon village.

Since the last 35 years, the entire city’s solid waste is discarded here. The municipal workers do not even treat it or identify another landfill. The foul smell and bacteria pose serious health risks including headache, nausea and fever. All our complaints have fallen on deaf years, says Mitali.

The city presently does not have a single waste treatment plant that is functional. Aurangabad’s development plan was prepared in 1975 and revised in 2002, however, no provisions were made for solid waste management, chief minister Fadnavis said.

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On March 6, the Bombay High Court had passed an order putting a ban on disposing garbage at Naregaon landfill. With no option left, the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation didn’t collect garbage from city’s households after which the problem aggravated calling for an immediate action.

Replying to a debate over the issue in the Legislative Council, the chief minister assured the residents of the city that the waste problem will be resolved by March 17. So far the authorities have managed to collect 76% of the 5,420 metric tonnes of garbage (which has accumulated in the city since the start of this month) and the remaining will be collected soon, the chief minister confirmed.

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To ensure such landfill crisis do not emerge in future, the Chief Minister said that the state government henceforth will not allot land for garbage dumping. Land will be allotted only for segregation and processing of garbage, he said.

Besides, the issue of Aurangabad the Chief Minister also revealed the amount sanctioned for solid waste management in other cities and said, “Solid waste management projects for 152 cities worth Rs 1,856 crore have been approved, and projects for another 48 cities would be approved before March 31.”

Talking about the current status of waste management in Maharashtra and said, “236 cities in Maharashtra are scientifically segregating and processing the waste. 36 cities are contributing to the `MahaCompost’ brand.”

The government markets compost manure prepared by municipal bodies through scientific treatment of biodegradable waste under its brand MahaCompost.

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