Five days after the fire at Deonar dumping ground, state Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam said dumping grounds in the city should be moved to Taloja in Navi Mumbai.
“The way garbage is piling up in the city is unbearable. The state already has a proposal to set up a dumping ground in Taloja. This should have been done earlier. At least now the officers must look for the file and speed up the process,” said Mr Kadam. He was speaking at the launch of the web portal of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board at the Sahyadri state guest house.
The Shiv Sena Minister said that all dumping grounds in city should be moved out. “Considering the land allotted for the purpose, it is possible to do so. We can close Deonar, Mulund or any other spot and move waste to Taloja,” he added.
‘Fire unfortunate’
Calling the fire at Deonar unfortunate, Mr. Kadam said the Chief Minister has ordered an inquiry into the case. “Till now, the complaint has been filed against unknown miscreants. We will soon unearth the controversy behind it,” he said. Mentioning that the civic elections for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation are round the corner, he said people were playing vote bank politics over the fire.
Last week, the state government informed the Bombay High Court that they have handed over 32 hectares to the BMC to develop a dumping ground in Navi Mumbai. The court had then observed that establishing a dumping site at Taloja “appears to be a distant dream.”
Most of it has been encroached upon and 12 hectares of land is yet to be acquired.
Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam wants city’s waste to be moved to Taloja
