PMC finds it difficult to dispose the construction debris
With Pune progressing fast on the realty front, hundreds of constructions have come up across the city and with similar number of renovations of flats and other properties happening, the debris is being dumped recklessly, much to the alarm of environmentalists.
If the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) wants to contain further degradation of water bodies, land, public spaces and green areas in the city, the need of the hour is to look for immediate solutions to recycle and reuse construction and demolition (C&D) waste.
Prashant Waghmare, City engineer said that the PMC had not identified a dumping ground. He said, “The civic body is trying hard to locate places around the city, but no village in the fringes is ready to give land for the debris. As of now, we expect developers to take care of debris they generate.”
Developer and former president of CREDAI Pune chapter, Satish Magar, criticized there being no policy to reuse the waste. He said, “Builders working on big sites generally reuse C&D waste. However, small developers find it difficult to do so. There is no concrete policy about the debris and there is no substantial effort at any level to reuse the waste.”
Debris choking rivers and nullahs
The choking of rivers and nullahs in the city because of uncontained dumping by the builders has been repeatedly brought to the notice of the civic body by the activists. Senior research associate, sustainable building programme with the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Avikal Somvanshi said, “C&D waste is a problem across cities-big and small. Land sharks use this bulk waste to illegally reclaim land from ecologically sensitive areas like rivers, lakes and wet lands. In fact, Ram nadi (river) in Pune city has been severely affected by this indiscriminate dumping.”
Somvanshi also said that Delhi and Mumbai have identified and acknowledged the problem as they have run out of land needed for dumping. He further added, “There are no rules and regulations that comprehensively cover C&D waste collection and disposal. There is a need for clear directives to govern their collection and recycling, which is possible because the construction debris can be reused to make bricks and paver blocks. This can help the construction industry as well as the environment as it will reduce pressure on highly stressed out natural resources like sand, stone and mud.”
Vijay Kumbhar of the Surajya Sangharsh Samiti says, “Nullahs, open plots, roadsides in sparsely populated areas, river banks and riverbeds are being used for dumping. No action has been taken against anyone even as the debris blocks natural flow of water resulting in flooding during the monsoon.”
Experts have insisted that each city needs to have its own system for collection and disposal of waste. The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) came out with the Construction & Demolition & Desilting waste (Management & Disposal) Rules 2006.
Source: The Times of India
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