Adviser asks MC not to immediately shut Dadumajra plant

UT adviser Manoj Parida on Thursday told the municipal corporation not to shut down the Dadumajra waste processing plant until a new plant comes up.

Municipal corporation (MC) commissioner KK Yadav, mayor Raj Bala Malik and BJP chief Arun Sood also attended the meeting held to review the matter.The MC general House on Wednesday had resolved to terminate its contract with Jaypee Group, which runs the Dadumajra waste plant. It had decided to dismantle the plant and initiate the process to set up a new plant in a year.

Parida said though the process to take over the plant from Jaypee could be started, the MC should review its decision to immediately dismantle the plant.

Yadav said, “The adviser suggested that until the time a new plant is built, processing should not be stopped as it may take some time to set up a new plant. Parida also asked the MC to explore ways to run the plant effectively and to switch over to the new plant in a phased manner.” Yadav will discuss the matter with the mayor on Friday: “The issue of serving a termination notice to Jaypee will also be discussed in the meeting,” he said.

The MC had also made an attempt to scrap the contract in 2017 but Jaypee got relief from the National Green Tribunal. However, the plant’s functioning did not improve. Recently, the MC told the NGT that the plant was still processing only 20% of the city’s daily waste, which amounts to around 500 tonnes.

The NGT, in its February 12 order, came to the MC’s rescue and gave it a month to make alternative arrangements, if it felt it was no longer viable to work with Jaypee.

When the matter came up for discussion during a house meeting on Tuesday, all councillors were in favour of terminating the contract, and setting up a plant equipped with the latest technology, which will be able to sustain the city for the next 50 years.