Pune: Leader of the opposition in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) Nilesh Nikam has demanded an inquiry into the tender process and feasibility of the proposed garbage treatment plant for dry and wet trash.The PMC has proposed the project which can treat 500 tonnes of garbage per day. “The rates to process wet and dry waste are different, so merging them into a single tender is technically flawed. A joint tender has been awarded at inflated rates. It was structured thus to stifle competition and benefit a specific contractor,” Nikam told reporters on Friday.Civic data said approximately 1,500 tonnes to 1,600 tonnes of dry waste and 1,000 tonnes to 1,100 tonnes of wet waste is generated in Pune daily. Under the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, the civic body is mandated to scientifically dispose the trash. Currently, the PMC has dry waste processing plants with a combined capacity of 2,100 tonnes to 2,400 tonnes. Additionally, wet waste processing plants with a capacity of 600 tonnes to 800 tonnes are also operational. The remaining 500 tonnes of wet waste is sent to farmers outside the city for composting.However, questions have been raised both over the PMC’s need for a plant to process 300 tonnes of wet waste and 200 tonnes of dry garbage and floating of a new combined tender. “Why is a new 200-tonnes dry waste plant being proposed when the city’s existing processing capacity far exceeds its daily dry waste generation?” Nikam said.The PMC said construction of the new plant was part of the administration’s plans to augment garbage processing capacity. “This is necessary since the civic areas are expanding, with new neighbourhoods being merged,” said a senior civic official.
