MMRDA will put debris on sale ………Sharad Vyas I TNN
Mumbai: With construction waste from its infrastructure projects piling up at a rapid pace, the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) has found a unique way to get rid of the debris.
The agency plans to sell the construction and demolition waste in the open market. The material can be reused by buyers to fill up plinth or the ground level of a structure, or to manufacture bricks, officials point out.
A consultantEnvosystemswas appointed last month at a cost of Rs 5 lakh to carry out a feasibility study and develop a system to offer waste to potential buyers in the Mumbai metropolitan region (MMR).
There is a lot of construction happening in the city, which ensures that there is always a shortage of material in the market. If we take into account the debris generated from major projects such as Metro, flyovers, building complexes and the Mithi river, we can easily meet the market demand, said Ashok Shekdar, a consultant with Envosystems.
The consultant has also been asked to ascertainduring a 45-day studythe amount of construction and demolition waste generated from three categories of projects: those that are under way, those yet to be commissioned and those that are still at a planning stage.
Construction and demolition debris, consisting of concrete, stone, silt, brick masonry and excavated material, can be used in the manufacture of bricks and filling of plinth or ground levels. We know for sure that most of the construction debris generated in the MMR does not reach the landfills, but is indiscriminately dumped in open spaces. To avoid such a situation, we have come up with an alternative to make waste a saleable product, said M R Shah, principal adviser (solid waste management), MMRDA.
The agency has identified five places in the MMR that will be developed as sanitary landfill sites. These will take care of the present assessed load of overall waste, 11,209 tones a day, generated by 13 municipal councils and seven municipal corporations.
Since the deluge of July 2005, a lot of people and developers have raised the height of their buildings. So, they need material to fill their plinth or ground levels.
This is where our waste material can come in handy, Shah said.