Legacy waste disposal: Chandigarh MC clears estimates for ₹77-crore project

Clearing decks for the removal of 7.5 lakh million tonnes (MT) of legacy waste at the Dadumajra dumping site, the UT administration on Wednesday approved the estimates for ₹77-crore project.

The estimates were approved in a meeting of the municipal corporation (MC) and UT officials, held under the chairmanship of the UT adviser.

UT adviser Dharam Pal said, “I have also directed the MC that the project should have a performance-linked model, wherein parameters are set for continuous performance assessment of the contractor.”

A presentation of the detailed project report (DPR) was also discussed. Now, MC is expected to float a request for proposal in a week’s time, said a senior MC official.

After receiving proposals, MC is likely to complete the tendering process in the next couple of months and the project is expected to be completed in four years after commencement.

The project is being partially funded by the central government under the Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0. Of the total ₹77-crore cost, ₹28.02 crore will be contributed by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs that has already released ₹11.36 crore.

Towering waste

A total of 12.5 lakh MT legacy waste is to be cleared from the 25-acre Dadumajra landfill. Of this, 5 lakh MT from before 2005 is being bio-mined under a Smart City project. Initially planned to be completed by May 2021, the project now has a December 2022 deadline.

The ₹33-crore legacy mining project was launched with much fanfare in December 2019 by the then UT administrator VP Singh Badnore in the presence of MP Kirron Kher. But over two years later, only around 3 lakh MT (60%) garbage has been removed.

The ₹77-crore project under the Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 will target the remaining 7.5 lakh MT legacy waste dumped at the Dadumajra site after 2005.

While Chandigarh’s daily solid waste generation is around 550-600 MT, most of it is dumped at the landfill without processing.