BMC finds contractor to shut Mulund dump for Rs 731crore

Mumbai: The Mulund dumping ground is finally about to shut down. After a gap of three years, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has finally found a contractor to close the dump site at a cost of Rs 731 crore over a six-year span.

According to civic officials, currently 1,500 to 2,000 metric tonnes of garbage is being dumped at the site. Since the dump site has already exhausted its capacity, the BMC has decided to shut it down and reclaim the land. The garbage will get processed with the use of advanced technology and the resultant refuse will be dumped elsewhere by the contractor. The BMC had already issued three tenders in November 2015, October 2016 and March 2017 for the project. However, they had to be scrapped due to low response and lack of advance technology. In the fourth tender invited in February this year, four bidders responded, of which the consortium of Prakash Constrowell Ltd, Infotech International Ltd and EB Enviro Biotech Pvt Ltd emerged as the lowest bidder.

“The rate decided by the a committee of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Indian Institute of Technology and financial consultants of State Government to process one tonne of garbage was Rs 900 in April 2016. But the rate quoted by the contractor is Rs 798 per tonne for processing the garbage,” said a senior civic official.

According to the proposal, the dumping ground will be closed down phase-wise in six years. In the first year, the project construction will be carried out, followed by processing of 11 lakh tonnes (16 %) of garbage. After this, the garbage processing will be increased gradually with 24 lakh (18%), 38 lakh (20%), 53 lakh (22%) and 70 lakh tonnes (24%) being processed in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth year respectively.

The proposal conditions have also made it mandatory for the contractor to procure all necessary conditions required for the project within six months after being issued the work order. He will also have to find a private place to dump the project refuse.

Facts about dump yard

The Mulund dumping ground is spread over 24 hectares of land, where garbage is being dumped since 1967. Till this year, an estimated seven million cubic metres of trash, the height of which has reached to 30 metres, has been dumped at the site. The garbage has even transcended to the private land near the dumping ground.