BMC allowed to continue dumping trash at Deonar

On Thursday, the Bombay High Court (HC) allowed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to recommence dumping trash at the Deonar dumping ground. The High Court ruled in favour of BMC after the civic body informed the court that a plant will soon be set up at the Deonar to convert 3,000 tonnes of solid waste into energy daily.

Bombay HC was hearing a plea filed by the municipal corporation, seeking an extension of the court's December 31, 2019 deadline to stop dumping garbage at Deonar as the dumping ground fails to adhere to Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules.

But the High Court had denied any further extension to the civic body under any circumstances. However, BMC had filed a fresh plea on January 28, seeking a further extension of the deadline for two years.

BMC's counsel, senior advocate Anil Sakhare, said that the measures taken by the municipal corporation had helped reduce the solid waste taken to dumping sites from 8,509 tonnes a day in 2015, to 6,782 tonnes a day in 2019.

Advocate Sakhare also pointed out that BMC plans to set up a plant at the dumping ground to convert 3,000 metric tonnes of solid waste into energy daily. He added that the tender for the project has been finalised and only the final approval is pending.

"The contractor will require at least three years to set up the plant and make it functional," Sakhare told the court.

The plea was heard by a division bench of justices SC Dharmadhikari and RI Chagla, who allowed BMC’s plea. The judges said that although the Environment Protection Act and the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules require solid waste to be treated properly and disposed scientifically, a time limit cannot be laid down for implementation of the rules. The court described the collection and disposal of municipal solid waste in metro cities, 'a humongous task'.

The plea has now been forwarded for further hearing on June 22. The High Court has directed BMC to produce and file an affidavit explaining how the civic body plans to further reduce the quantity of solid waste taken to dumping grounds and the status of the proposed waste-to-energy plant at Deonar.