HYDERABAD: Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD), Arvind Kumar on Tuesday directed concessionaire of Jawaharnagar dump yard to take measures to reduce the stench, emanating from the dump and creating inconvenience to the residents.
There has been a reduction in the odour due to the regular capping works. However, the piling up of the garbage and the delay in its processing was causing concern, he said.
Arvind Kumar, on Tuesday, visited the dumping yard at Jawaharnagar and took stock of the measures initiated by the concessionaire Ramky Enviro Engineers Limited. He asked them to firm up a date for commissioning of the waste to energy plant. He directed the concessionaires to cover the live garbage with tarpaulin sheets at least till the end of the rainy season to bring down the stench.
Arvind Kumar advised them to build up vertical walls and roof on top where live garbage is kept and asked the GHMC Commissioner DS Lokesh Kumar to look into the slaughterhouse issue at Chengicherla. He also asked the officials to identify alternate sites for processing and disposal as the Jawaharnagar dumping yard is the single processing and disposal facility for the entire city.
The concessionaires explained about the conditions leading to increased odour through a powerpoint presentation. They said that unexpected heavy rainfall, low temperature, the relatively higher elevation of dump yard, unsegregated waste with high water content, higher volumes of waste receipts, including slaughterhouse are some of the reasons for the increased odour. Measures being taken up to address this issue include short term, medium-term and long term measures.
As a short term measure, aggressive spraying of masking agents and soil cover over partially filled landfill cells would be taken up. Medium-term measures include expediting waste to energy plants apart from the construction of sheds for composting areas and enhanced odour monitoring protocol. In the long term, alternative processing and disposal sites in other locations would be explored. EPTRI Director-General Kalyan Chakravarthi were present.