Mumbai’s civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has appointed the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai, to study the feasibility to set up an energy plant at the Gorai dumping ground.
As per reports, currently, the Gorai dumping site has 2.34 million tonnes of garbage. The heap of garbage is as tall as 26m. The contract to shut down the dumping ground was awarded to United Phosphorus company. According to the plan initiated by the civic body, the study by IIT-Mumbai will look into options for recovery of the land at Gorai dumping ground and then set up a waste to energy plant and material recovery facility there.
The civic body had earlier initiated a waste to energy plant at the Deonar which was valued at ₹1,000 crores. However, the decision to do so had raised several questions. MLA from Bhiwandi and Samajwadi Party Corporator Rais Shaikh, speaking about the same had stated that the matter was not discussed thoroughly and that the committee members weren’t allowed to express their views or concerns regarding the project.
As per the BMC’s proposal, the waste-to-energy plant at the Deonar dumping ground is to produce 25-30 megawatts of energy using 3,000 metric tons of garbage daily. This project reportedly requires a land parcel of at least 14 hectares within the 120 hectares of space at the Deonar dumping ground.
However, in recent developments, the Gorai dumping ground which was shut in 2009, had reached its saturation point, as the residents nearby had started complaining about the environmental damage in the neighbouring areas. Spread over an area of 19 hectares, the dumping site was functional since 1972. Moreover, the study is expected to be completed in the next six months.
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