Legacy waste clearance awaits approval from finance dept

State cabinet had cleared allocation of Rs 73.73 crore to dispose of nearly 10 lakh tonne ‘legacy waste’ at the landfill site of Pacchanady

The Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) is waiting for approval from the finance department to clear the legacy waste in the landfill site at Pacchanady.

The state cabinet had cleared an allocation of Rs 73.73 crore to dispose of nearly 10 lakh tonne ‘legacy waste’ at the landfill site of Pacchanady on the city’s outskirts, for disposing of waste through ‘biomining’ and ‘bioremediation’ methods, on August 19, 2021.

The MCC had prepared a detailed project report (DPR) to clear the legacy waste from Pacchanady using biomining technology as recommended by Central Pollution Control Board.

The MCC has finalised a bidder from Hyderabad—M/s NACOF (National Federation of Farmers Procurement, Processing and Retailing Cooperative of India) to carry out the biomining process. However, the finance proposal of the bidder is awaiting approval from the government.

“We are awaiting the approval shortly. Once the approval is received, the work order will be issued,” said MCC Commissioner Akshy Sridhar.

The legacy waste is of a 50-meter-high waste heap covering up to 2 km of the landfill site at Pacchanady.

The waste on the landfill site, spread over 42 acres of land, had slid in August 2019, wrecking the lives of many families residing downhill.

The garbage slide had covered 13.5 acres of horticultural and private land apart from revenue land.

The MCC had sent a detailed project report to the Directorate of Municipal Administration to clear the garbage through the biomining method.

The MCC is expecting Rs 22.95 crore income from the compost prepared from the waste, plastic recycle and others. Biomining technique will be used for clearing garbage dumped for many decades as per the guidelines of legacy waste management submitted by the Central Pollution Control Board.

Acquisition

While presenting the MCC budget for 2022-23, President of Taxation, Finance and Appeals Standing Committee Shobha Rajesh said that the state government has given approval for acquiring 17.25 acres of land that has been submerged with the sliding of garbage at Pacchanady.

The proposal has been submitted to the taluk office for verification. After getting the report from the taluk office, steps will be taken to pay compensation for the eight families of the said land.

The state government had released Rs 22 crore as compensation for the aggrieved families of the garbage slide. Already, compensation of Rs 13.80 crore has been paid.