Pune: Decentralisation of waste management dominated Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s general body meeting on Wednesday, with corporators across party lines urging the civic administration to reduce the city’s dependence on the Moshi waste depot in the wake of the July 8 tragedy that claimed nine lives.Members demanded that the civic body expedite plans for decentralised waste processing by setting up facilities across the city. While some sought restoration of the reservation for the proposed waste processing site at Punawale, others called for processing units in every ward.Corporators from Moshi warned that they would oppose the resumption of garbage dumping at the Moshi depot unless the administration initiated concrete measures to decentralise waste management.Nine people were killed after a massive garbage mound collapsed on the administrative building of the waste-to-energy (WTE) plant inside the Moshi waste depot on July 8. Rescue teams took 84 hours to recover all the bodies from the debris.“Moshi has borne the city’s waste burden for decades. If the civic body does not identify alternative sites, we will not allow a single garbage truck to enter the Moshi depot,” corporator Nikhil Borhade said, demanding that the earlier proposed waste processing site at Punawale be revived.Corporator Uttam Kendale said the WTE project should have been implemented much earlier. “Had the project been approved when it was first proposed, nearly five lakh metric tonnes of waste could have been scientifically processed instead of piling up in the landfill. The WTE plant should not be blamed for the tragedy,” he said.Corporator Archana Saste said concerns raised by Moshi residents over the waste depot were ignored for years.Leader of the house Prashant Shitole said the new development plan should include reservations for waste processing facilities across the city. “We may face opposition from residents while implementing this decision but that is the need of the hour so that we can cater to future needs,” he said.Corporator Sulbha Ubale said the tragedy should serve as a wake-up call for the civic body. She stressed the need for stricter enforcement of waste segregation and the plastic ban, while blaming the scrapping of the proposed Punawale waste depot reservation for worsening the city’s waste management challenges.The corporators also demanded enhanced compensation for the victims’ families and employment for one member from each affected family in the municipal corporation. Mayor Ravi Landge told the civic chief to prepare a time-bound plan to address issues concerning decentralisation of the waste management.Plans for now and future neededMunicipal commissioner Vijay Suryawanshi agreed that a decentralised waste management system was the only long-term solution. Pimpri Chinchwad growing at the rate of 7% to 8% and generates around 1,500 MT of waste every day which is processed and dumped at Moshi depot.The civic body will identify around 10 acres in every ward for scientific waste-processing facilities. Land identification would begin in a month with help from corporators. Detailed project reports for bio-CNG and dry waste processing plants within six months.The PCMC chief said they will intensify source segregation to make decentralised processing viable. “Proper segregation would enable dry waste to be converted into refuse-derived fuel (RDF), which can be used by cement industries, while bioCNG plants could process wet waste with investment from agencies such as MNGL and BPCL, requiring the civic body to bear only transportation and collection costs,” he added.Higher Compensation SoughtPCMC has requested the WTE plant operator to enhance the ex gratia for the victims’ families from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh. The company has said that the proposal will be sent to its board of directors. The civic body on Wednesday announced compensation of Rs 1 lakh to each victim injured in the incident.
