Mithi Debris to be Dumped at the Kanjurmarg Landfill Site
BMC’s approval to MMRDA’s request brings sour responses from Kanjurmarg residents
The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) finally heaved a sigh of relief as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has approved their request to dump the debris of Mithi River at the Kanjurmarg landfill site.
The MMRDA has been carrying on the desilting work at the Mithi river site since last year.
Sources in MMRDA said, “We have been asking the BMC to give us an appropriate place to dump the debris and silt. The Mithi River has always been an issue with the state government due to the flooding two years ago. Since then, the BMC and the MMRDA has been carrying on the desilting work. The BMC has strictly ordered its contractors to clear the sewers and the drainage systems, while the MMRDA has also worried about the slow progress of desilting work.”
However now, the BMC has given permission to MMRDA to dump the debris in the Kanjurmarg land-fill site.
According to S.V. Patil, an official of the Solid Waste Management (SWM) said, “This dumping is conditional, which is not a permanent one, will be done only for two months and will be offloaded only during the late night hours. 100 trucks will be used for this work at a time.”
Sources also said, “The MMRDA and the BMC are under much pressure from the state government regarding the desilting issue. Even though, there is opposition from residents of the locality on the issue, the authorities have been forced to carry on with their dumping work on the Kanjurmarg landfill site.”
Meanwhile, residents of the Kanjurmarg locality seems to be upset about the BMC giving permission to the MMRDA for dumping debris from the river. While some said that it would create environmental pollution, some said that it would spread noise pollution. “Kanjurmarg is a developing locality and so it’s impossible for the authorities to dump debris at this place. It’s a purely residential locality and dumping of silts of Mithi River on the landfill site will only add to problems. I am really worried about this issue now,” said Ameya Bandekar, resident of Tagore Nagar in Kanjurmarg.
Another resident, Sunil Korgaonkar said, “We have been living here since the past twenty years and the landfill site has been a problem for us. We were happy when the state government had stopped dumping activities here. But now, we are worried again. Why Kanjurmarg?”