The proposal for waste baling, which was put on the back burner by the Urban Affairs Department citing technical reasons, has resurfaced as a temporary solution to the garbage crisis. For the second time, the Suchitwa Mission is likely to call a short notice tender looking for agencies adept at waste baling, within a few days.
After the first tender called in July, two companies were shortlisted to do the baling process. However, the technicalities furnished by both firms were entirely different with no uniformity for any sort of comparison. The estimated cost for the process was calculated as Rs 3 crore for a month, which was a real put off for the officials.
In the last week of July, Minister for Urban Affairs Minister Manjalamkuzhi Ali had told this paper that a land was being considered for landfilling waste which could last for nearly two years. This land later turned out to be at Murukkumpuzha. However, the talks with the panchayats there had failed and the proposal landed in the dustbin.
‘’Baling is being considered yet again since there are no immediate solutions at hand. A short notice tender would be called again,’’ said an official with the department.
The idea was earlier given the cold-shoulder since it also meant no safety for the baled waste (bio-degradable waste churned and leachate squeezed out which is rolled into bundles for storage) even after spending huge amounts. What if a rodent ate into the bundles or it got damaged in some way before reaching a permanent treating process was a concern and the two agencies who bid the tenders had provided no convincing answers.
With no permanent treatment method put in place, the waste bundles could prove a headache after a certain period. If the government okays waste baling and moves ahead with it, then it would have to think of some permanent facility to treat the baled waste sooner or later.
Meanwhile, a team of officials visited Parassala on Monday night to check if the exercise at Kochuveli and Murukkumpuzha (where waste was used to construct platforms at the railway land there) could be repeated there. The proposal is being considered and nothing has been finalised, an official said.
Comments
0 comment