GHMC for global tenders to set up leachate treatment plant

Civic body has sought a go-ahead from the government in this regard

In order to find a permanent solution to the legacy leachate problem at the Jawahar Nagar dump site, which has turned into an albatross around its neck, the GHMC has sought a go-ahead from the government to invite global tenders for a leachate treatment plant.

A letter has been addressed to the government in this regard, seeking constitution of a committee to process its proposal for calling for Expression of Interest and Request for Proposal for appropriate and cost-effective technologies to treat about six lakh kilolitres of legacy leachate.

Legacy leachate is the seepage from close to 14 million tonnes of dump at Jawahar Nagar landfill site, which was handed over to the concessionaire firm Hyderabad Integrated Solid Waste Management under the agreement for solid waste management. While the agency could complete profiling of the refuse at the location and is progressing with its capping, seepage thick with contaminants continued to flow out of the dump. Increased in volume by the rainwater, the leachate was entering the Malkaram tank nearby and damaging crops.

In 2014, when a protest had erupted, the concessionaire created several ponds along the route for storing the leachate. As per a report by EPTRI, 5.88 lakh KL of leachate spread over 37.5 acres in a total of 12 ponds. Every monsoon, the ponds overflowed, and the leachate entered the lake. GHMC’s attempts to divert and treat the leachate at the sewage treatment plant at Nalla Cheruvu fell through as the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB), which was operating the STP, allowed disposal of only 20 KL leachate per day, citing high levels of pollutants and heavy metal.

In 2017, GHMC began a pilot project to treat the legacy leachate before monsoons so that the volume is brought down in ponds. Using reverse osmosis technology, the mobile treatment plant set up by a private agency from Mumbai, functioned with 2,000 KL capacity per day. It proved insufficient to treat the entire six lakh KL leachate, as the recovery rate ranged between only 55-61%. The rest had higher concentration of contaminants left behind from the treated water, and during monsoons, its volume increased, bringing the situation back to square one.

A GHMC official informed that the plant was causing an annual drain of ₹10 crore on GHMC’s coffers, without any improvement. “Once capping of the legacy dump is done, seepage will be reduced and the concessionaire is installing a treatment plant with 500 KL capacity to treat it. However, the legacy leachate still remains,” he said.