Pune: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has proposed seven sites across the city for decentralised solid waste management facilities, two months after the Moshi landfill collapse exposed major gaps in the waste disposal system.The move comes amid mounting pressure on the Moshi depot, the city’s only dumping site, where nine people died in a landfill collapse on July 8. The subsequent closure of the depot left the civic administration scrambling for alternative dumping space, resulting in large-scale accumulation of garbage across the city.The proposed locations are a site near the water tank in Sector 22 in Ward 13; reserved plots in Wards 17 and 18 in Chinchwad; a site near Ram Mandir in Dattanagar; Dighi Gairan in Survey No 77; Chovisawadi; multiple plots in Punawale; and Gawali Matha. PCMC is also in discussions for a 25-acre site within the limits of the Khadki Cantonment Board.PCMC now plans to decentralise waste management at the ward level by processing garbage closer to where it is generated. Following inspections of civic-owned reserved plots, seven sites have been shortlisted at the preliminary stage.“The civic body, depending on the size and suitability of each site, plans to set up facilities for waste segregation and recycling, waste-to-energy generation, production of biogas and biofuel from organic waste and processing plastic waste into useful products,” a senior PCMC official said.“At present, we are assessing the technical suitability, available area, transportation arrangements, environmental impact and other parameters of the proposed sites. Final locations will be selected after completing the feasibility assessment and obtaining the necessary permissions and approvals,” the official said.PCMC commissioner Vijay Suryawanshi said the proposed sites would undergo technical assessments before being finalised.“The proposed sites will be technically assessed and finalised with the consent of the mayor, elected representatives, office-bearers and corporators. The projects will be developed in an environment-friendly manner while ensuring minimum inconvenience to residents,” Suryawanshi said.Additional municipal commissioner Vikrant Bagade said the civic body was planning modern facilities based on the size and suitability of each site.“These will include odour-free transfer stations, material recovery facilities (MRFs), biogas and biofuel plants and units to manufacture useful products from plastic waste,” Bagade said.
