In a continuation of our series on garbage segregation, we look at how some of the city’s neighbouring municipalities dispose of their trash
Navi Mumbai: A step forward
In the area of waste segregation, Navi Mumbai is streets ahead of other municipalities, if the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) data is anything to go by: around 4,100 societies out of 4,500 within its jurisdiction are separating wet and dry waste at source. Encouraged by this, NMMC has decided to go a step further and ask the bigger societies to install composting units within their premises. “We have sent letters to all 400 societies, spread across 3,000 sq m and more, as also hotels, making it mandatory for them to start composting waste within their premises by November 15, 2017,” said Dr. N. Ramaswami, Commissioner, NMMC.
An NMMC official, who did not wish to be named, said that wet garbage is now not being lifted from the bigger societies that had been served notices. The residents, however, have asked for an extension of the deadline.
The corporation collects around 700 metric tonne of waste each day from eight nodes: Belapur, Nerul, Vashi, Turbhe, Koperkhairane, Ghansoli, Airoli and Digha.
On November 4, NMMC conducted a workshop at Vishnudas Bhave auditorium, Vashi, on composting, in which nearly 700 society chairpersons and secretaries, besides hoteliers, participated. “There were several misunderstandings about segregation and composting. We explained how composting can be done easily at minimal cost and space,” said Jayant Joshi, microbiologist and bio-composting expert, who addressed the gathering along with Vrushali Magdum, Navi Mumbai coordinator for the NGO, Stree Mukti Sanghatana.
Waste segregation has been on the corporation's agenda since May 2016. Between June 21 and 25 last year, NMMC stopped lifting garbage from societies that failed to segregate waste at source. “This yielded results,” says Tushar Pawar, Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Solid Waste Management), NMMC. Societies that don't segregate their garbage are fined Rs. 250 per day.
While most slums are still defying the segregation order, Digha, which has a large slum pocket, is an exception; almost 80% of waste is being segregated at source. This is followed by Vashi (70%) and Koperkhairane (65%).
NMMC has now decided to encourage residents in bigger societies to install composting units. “More than 25 societies in Navi Mumbai and around 25 schools and colleges have already started composting garbage,” said Rajendra Sonawane, Chief Sanitation Officer, NMMC.
Residents of Shivsmruti Cooperative Housing Sociery at Pachpakhadi in Thane keep separate garbage tubs for dry and wet waste. Vibhav Birwatkar
The corporation has installed composting units at R. R. Patil Udyan, Nerul and Nisarg Udyan at Koperkhairane, so residents can see for themselves how it is done. In Nerul, a volunteer from Stree Mukti Sanghatana explains composting to residents from 10 am to 3 pm. In Koperkhairane, an NMMC staffer gives a daily demonstration. Two small NMMC vans also visit societies in each node and explain segregation and composting with the help of CDs. By November-end, NMMC plans to install composting units in all gardens measuring 4,000 sq m and more, and in civic-run schools.
Residents are doing their bit to spread awareness. Suresh Bhagwat, a resident of Sector 9 CBD Belapur, says all members in his society are segregating garbage at home. Swati Sandeep Tillu, an Airoli resident and member of the NGO, Mumbai Grahak Panchayat, has been composting at home for the past one-and-a-half years, “with the help of a small kitchen compost basket I bought for Rs. 600.” Ms. Tillu has formed a group of up to 30 women in Airoli who are composting at home too.
Kalyan-Dombivali: Fumes of discontent
This month, two out of the 13 proposed biomethanisation plants at Kalyan and Dombivali are set to begin operations.
With the Aadharwadi dumping ground bursting at its seams, the Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC) had proposed 13 plants in 2015, which were approved in March 2016. Last month, the first plant was inaugurated at Umbarde, Kalyan while the other was inaugurated recently in Barave, near Kadakpada, Kalyan.
S. Navangule, executive engineer, said vegetable waste – which is the highest in Umbarde – is being treated at this plant. Four other plants will be started by January next year. For the remaining seven, the KDMC is awaiting possession of land. Once all the plants are operational, there will be no need for the Aadharwadi ground, he said. The project will benefit Kalyan-Dombivali as well as 28 other villages in the Kalyan Taluka.
For the moment, though, discontent is brewing in the city. The Aadharwadi ground has a capacity of 200 mt, but handles nearly 650 mt of waste every day. Kaustubh Gokhale, an activist, filed a case in the Bombay High Court in 2009 to shut the ground, but the case saw no movement till 2016, when it was transferred to the National Green Tribunal. The High Court issued a stay, authorising the dumping ground because there was no alternative. The stay was lifted last year and the plants were approved. The NGT trial has not begun yet.
“The corporation has no authorisation to use the Aadharwadi dumping ground any more, and they need to start working on the proposed biogas plants and other dumping grounds,” said Mr.Gokhale . “Waste is piling up like a mountain and the corporation is doing nothing about it. We don’t feel safe anymore. The corporation needs to take immediate action,” said Sunanda Sheta, an Aadharawadi resident.
The biomethanisation plants have also run into opposition. The proposal to have one in Kadakpada, a developing residential township, has led to a huge dip in registrations of new constructions this year. Property rates have also fallen. Local residents moved the Bombay High Court to reverse the decision, and they received a reprieve in the form of a stay order. However, the stay has now been lifted and the residents are disappointed, said Srinivas Ghanekar, RTI activist. “The plants should not be constructed in an area that is home to more than 1,200 people, as the smell is noxious,” he says.
A composting bin in Navi Mumbai.
Dilip Jaisinghani, who moved to Khadakpada two years ago, said, “We bought a house here in expectation of a better lifestyle but if the biomethanisation plant comes up, living here would be very difficult -- a constant reminder of our mistake to move in here.”
Ambernath: Residents show the way
Ambernath is a good example of how a citizen-led initiative can contribute to a clean city. A proud Deviraj Pawar, Deputy Commissioner, says, “Ambernath is one of the cleanest places as compared with its neighbouring cities.” In the past three months, he says, “we have noticed a drastic change in the way waste is collected and treated.”
Citizen-run organisations have taken the responsibility of cleaning the city, he says. With the help of members of the Rotary Club of Ambernath and National Service Scheme, the Ambernath Municipal Council (AMC) has run awareness campaigns in the form of street plays, musicals, prabhat pheri (morning rallies), motion announcements (megaphones on autorickshaws),pamphlets, print advertisements and school shows.
Encouraged by the citizens' involvement, the AMC has proposed a Rs. 1-crore project for better management of industrial and non-industrial waste. The project involves the purchase of machines that segregate and treat waste, and approval is expected by January next year.
Known for the MIDC and Ordnance factory, Ambernath has a population of 2.5 lakh, as per Census 2011. “As per the Census, there are 81,000 houses but we are sure that over the years, the number has risen to 1.2 lakh. The success of this project will make Ambernath the cleanest MIDC town,” says Mr. Pawar. In the same breath, he says, “We are being ambitious at the moment, but the support we receive from citizens is encouraging.”
Council officials say the city's dumping ground, with a capacity of 50 metric tonnes, is underused. “For the total 23 sq. km in the city, we have one ground in Ambernath West for non-industrial waste. That is also not being used to capacity: a sign that we are moving towards a cleaner society,” says Mr. Pawar.
Bhiwandi: ‘No problem here’, says the corporation
The Bhiwandi-Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNMC) works together with NGOs to spread awareness on waste segregation, but refuses to adapt to any new technique of waste management or garbage treatment.
Bhiwandi, all of 26 sq. km, is divided into 23 wards, and as per the 2011 Census, is home to nearly 7.5 lakh people. However, Sunil Bhalerao, Deputy Commissioner of the Health and Sanitation Department, says the number has risen to 10.5 lakh in the past four years.
Altogether 97 garbage collecting vans dump the segregated waste in the Nehru Nagar dumping ground. The 10-acre land, which that is being used for the past 10 years, handles 450 mt of garbage every day. BNMC has 500 rag pickers registered with it who are trained in segregation and regularly vaccinated, says Mr. Bhalerao. The corporation has also started a campaign called, 'Swacch Banega India', which include street plays and local advertisements.
“We have not proposed any garbage treatment because we haven't the felt the need for it,” he says. The BNMC has been allotted land near the bypass for dumping, but does not expect possession for at least another two years.
Ulhasnagar: Where citizens don’t care
Two years after the closure of the Mharal dumping ground, Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) still struggles to get an authorised dumping ground in the vicinity.
UMC officials say, the Mharal dumping ground, 3 km from city limits, was used for more than 10 years and in February 2015, was closed. Garbage is now dumped in a ground near Durgapada in Camp No. 5, Ulhasnagar.
Sachin Deolkar, Deputy Commissioner of the UMC said, "We have put in multiple requests for an official dumping ground but due to space constraints, it has been difficult." There are at least 12 lakh people spread over 13 sq km of the city, he says.
Meanwhile, the UMC is conducting awareness by way of motion announcements, advertisements on local entertainment channels and newspapers. Last week, the corporation began to distribute dustbins among households, and volunteers are explaining segregation and treatment of dry and wet waste to residents.
A proposal for more treatment plants should be ready by the year-end, he said, while lamenting the tepid response from citizens. "We are trying our best but the response from the citizens leaves us, corporation officials, struggling with the problem.”
Panvel: Still some distance to cover
Solid waste management in Panvel, Kamothe, Kharghar and Kalamboli comes under the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO). CIDCO currently dumps 300–350 mt of garbage near the Taloja MIDC.
The Panvel City Municipal Corporation, which was formed in 2016, will take over waste management from CIDCO next year. The PCMC has already begun playing a role in educating citizens about waste segregation, with municipal officials right up to the commissioner regularly meeting residents. The civic body also ran a Clean Panvel drive drive in September, in which 5,000 residents participated. Taking a cue from the BMC, the PCMC hosted an exhibition on solid waste management at Kamothe, displaying solutions for segregating dry and wet waste, recycling, various composting methods, and the generating of biogas.
Sudhakhar Shinde, Commissioner, PCMC, said a few large housing societies are segregating waste, but it will take time for everyone to join in, as behavioural changes take time.
Activists and residents agree on the need for segregation.
Khargar resident Bhawana Gupta said problems with garbage collection pushed her to start composting a few months ago. Ms Gupta also spreads the word with neighbours and friends, showing them her own compost bin to counter fears of foul odours. Asmita Sharma, a founder member of citizens’ collective Shrunkhala, said kitchen waste composting is like a fad, in that people try their hands at it, but don’t continue. To keep people motivated, “During our sessions, we teach methodologies, urban farming, switching to healthy living by consuming organic food produced by themselves.”
Mira-Bhayander: A story of hope
The Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation is a good example of transformation in the face of adversity. Once the target of criticism for poor waste disposal, nearly 60% of garbage generated in the corporation limits is now segregated.
The change has been swift. At the heart of the criticism – from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) -- was the city’s solid waste management plant, which shut down in 2013. Ever since, the city’s waste was being dumped in the open without being treated, and the ground became a site of frequent fires. The NGT threatened to halt all new construction projects in the twin city if the MBMC did not restart its waste processing plant.
The MBMC appointed the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay as a consultant to suggest way to dispose of waste scientifically. Based on their recommendations, the MBMC chose a contractor to run the solid waste management plant.
Mira-Bhayander’s 8.14 lakh residents generate nearly 500 mt of waste daily, which, according to the Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC), will soon be disposed of scientifically. “The city’s solid waste management plant will start in 15 days. A composting facility is also under construction and will be ready by January 2018,” says Dr. Sambhaji Panpatte, Deputy Civic Chief, MBMC.
From May 1 this year, the MBMC issued notices to societies to segregate their waste at source. And in July, it refused to pick up garbage if it wasn’t segregated. Despite awareness drives along with regular notices to societies, only 5% of all the housing societies segregated their waste. But ever since the MBMC stopped picking up waste, they have witnessed a spike in societies complying with the notice. “The rule is still in force and those who don’t comply will have their water connections cut,” said Dr Panpatte. The MBMC is expecting that figure to touch 90% by the end of November.
In addition, the corporation plans to distribute garbage bins free of cost to housing societies. “We intend to provide two bins – a blue bin for recyclable waste and a green one for bio-degradable waste,” said Dr Panpatte. The distribution of garbage bins will take place in a phased manner; the first phase will cover 7,000 societies. The corporation also has 102 vehicles to collect waste, of which 35 are for dry waste and the remaining are for wet waste.
(Reporting by Varda Sharma, Rachna Dhanrajani, Meena R. Prashant, Ajeet Mahale)
