HC rejects plea to shift Hadapsar garbage plant

Time of India

4 days ago

Pune: The Bombay high court on Tuesday rejected a petition seeking relocation of the garbage processing unit from the Hadapsar industrial estate to an alternate site and directed Pune Municipal Corporation and Pune Cantonment Board to ensure scientific processing of solid waste.
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The court also directed the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board to act against any violation of Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules by the civic bodies or their contractors at the site.
The bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep V Marne said the authorities must ensure that mixed solid waste was not dumped on the 28-acre site. Instead, municipal solid waste brought there should be processed and disposed of through methods like composting, recycling, and reusing dry waste, with non-biodegradable waste sent to suitable landfills, the bench said.
The bench also ordered measures to control and suppress foul odours, toxic gases, dust and other pollutants from the waste processing facility, directing the use of modern techniques to prevent adverse health impacts on nearby residents. "Controlling odorous gas and dust from waste processing facilities is crucial for both environment and health," the bench said.
The judgment puts to rest a decade-old demand by the local residents to relocate the waste processing unit.
It gives hope to PMC to push its plan for decentralised garbage processing at different spots, to reduce cost of garbage transport to the Uruli Devachi processing facility.
PCB, which generates 200 metric tonnes of garbage daily, has been using the Hadapsar facility for almost a century now, while PMC, which generates 800 metric tonnes of waste daily, started using the facility in 2000 as a decentralised facility for processing a part of its daily garbage.
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Hadapsar Industrial Association, St Patrick's Town Cooperative Housing Society and Sopan Baug residents had filed PILs, citing issues like foul odour and health risks posed by the garbage plant to nearby residents. They sought relocation of the plant. The petition named PMC, PCB, MPCB, Pune collector and state govt as respondents.
The bench, however, observed in its ruling, "We are unable to grant prayer of the petitioners for shifting the waste processing unit from the current site.
The operation of the waste processing facility is in consonance with the SWM Rules and as per the order passed by the principal secretary of the Urban Development Department (UDD) of Sept 11, 2008. This court in fact does not appreciate repeated attempts being made for closure or shifting of the waste processing facility.
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Instead of suggesting positive measures for better processing of solid municipal waste in a scientific manner without causing health hazards to nearby residents, the petitions were aimed at shifting the waste processing facility in someone else's backyard, the court said.
The HC said PMC and PCB were duty-bound to ensure that processing waste has the least impact on residents and industrial units in the locality. The court noted, "PMC has implemented some measures like high jet spraying of the area every three hours to reduce dust and odour. It has also proposed certain measures like covering the compost plant to suppress odour. It has issued tenders for carrying out the erection work of fogging and misting system for controlling odour.
PMC is proposing to install automatic chemical sprinklers at the composting plant. It has been planned to increase the height of the compound wall from 12ft to 16ft. These measures need to be implemented both by PMC and PCB."
The HC directed PCB and PMC to make representation to state govt if they required additional land for disposal for operation of waste processing facilities.