BMC floats 2.4k cr tender to clear 185L tons of waste at Deonar, reclaim 110 hectares

Time of India

14-05-2025

Mumbai: Four months after the state govt directed BMC to clear the Deonar landfill, the civic body Wednesday invited bids for bioremediation of 185 lakh ton of legacy waste and disposal of the material there.
The contract is estimated to be for Rs 2,368 crore.The project also includes reclamation of 110 hectares at the site, one of Mumbai's oldest solid waste dumping grounds. The contract period is set for three years.Last Oct, the state cabinet had approved a proposal to hand over a portion of the ground for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project to rehabilitate Dharavi residents, particularly those deemed ineligible for free housing under existing criteria. The Dharavi project is being implemented by an SPV formed as a joint venture between the state govt and the Adani Group.While civic officials cited
Swachh Bharat Mission
for the Deonar clean-up contract, opposition alleged public money is being used to facilitate the Dharavi project.
The contract to clear the Deonar dumping ground is among the largest tenders floated in recent years by BMC for solid waste management. It also comes at a time when BMC's liabilities are at an all time high of Rs 2.32 lakh crore. The contract period is set for three years, which includes the time for mobilisation and the monsoon.TOI was the first to report in Jan that in a letter sent to the BMC commissioner on Jan 24, the state, referring to the Swachh Bharat Mission Rules 2016, stated that it is the municipal corporation's duty to clear the land by scientifically treating the waste.
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The letter also stated that the request had been originally made by the Dharavi Redevelopment Project in communication dated Jan 3.Officials said that a pre-bid meeting will be held later this month and by next month the contractor will be finalised . "We expect it to take four months for mobilisation. At some spots the waste dumped go up to 40 metres high and hence bioremediation will have to be done carefully," said an official. Alongside the landfill is the creek and so a waste spillover needs to be guarded against.NOCs from several departments would be needed for the project, including CRZ and forest authorities. Deputy municipal commissioner in charge of the solid waste management department, Kiran Dighavkar, said that under the Swachh Bharat Mission the Centre has been pressing upon the clearing up of legacy waste. "This is a step in that direction," he said.But former cabinet minister Aaditya Thackeray questioned the move. "The reason why @mybmc has imposed Adani Tax on Mumbai in the form of 'waste management fee'," said Thackeray referring to the BMC's recent move of planning to impose a user fee for collecting solid waste in Mumbai. "Land forcefully snatched from Mumbai belongs to- Adani Group, to dump 50,000 residents of Dharavi. Who will pay? Mumbaikars from their tax money. For Adani Group," said Thackeray.Founder of Chandavli Citizens Welfare Association, Mandeep Singh Makkar, called it "very unfair". "Why spend Rs2,300 crore of taxpayers' money to facilitate Dharavi redevelopment project?" she said.Congress Mumbai North Central MP Varsha Gaikwad said, "The shameless Adani sarkar has got @mybmc to float a 2,368 crore rupees tender for Deonar dumping ground. The Kachra Seth Sarkar doesn't care that Deonar is a methane emission hotspot and gaseous discharge will continue from it for close to 2 decades.