The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has decided to collect Rs. 360 a tonne for lifting of construction debris from different parts of the capital through its own vehicle fleet. Citizens can call the call centre on 040-21111111 or contact the officials through a mobile app ‘My GHMC App’ for the pickup.
The debris would be transported to four identified dumping sites at Jeedimetla, Mallapur, Fathullaguda and Kothwalguda where processing plants would come up once the bids were finalised so that a sustainable solution was found for the problem of construction and demolition waste, said GHMC Commissioner B. Janardhan Reddy here on Tuesday. The construction and demolition waste management rules issued by the Centre too sought the establishment of such processing plants. Currently, the construction debris was finding its way into storm water drains, lake foreshores and even roadside. Most of the time, it is also getting mixed with municipal solid waste causing problems in its disposal. Dr. Reddy instructed the Zonal Commissioners and others to keep a watch on the construction and debris movement activity and ensure that bulk generators use municipal vehicles for the purpose of disposal and pay the user fee. He also warned that those resorting to illegal dumping of such debris were liable to be prosecuted and vehicles used for the purpose would also be seized by enforcement teams working circle-wise.
Norms relaxed
The government has issued orders relaxing the norms for choosing builders for taking up two-bedroom housing scheme for weaker sections in the capital. This was due to the poor response to the tenders called for taking up such housing in 18 sites identified based on the models prepared by the TS Housing Corporation Limited. Now, any contractor licenced by the GHMC is eligible to participate in the bidding unlike earlier when only those who had done Central and State government projects were allowed to apply.
The municipal corporation intends to build little over 5,000 houses at a total cost of about Rs. 429 crore with the government subsidy being about Rs. 354 crore and GHMC share of Rs. 75 crore together with infrastructure development.
