BHUBANESWAR: After claiming to have processed over 90 per cent waste at the Gadakana temporary transit station (TTS) near Sainik School, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has now initiated process to take up plantation on over 8 acre land at the site to improve the environment of its surrounding area.
BMC officials said tender for plantation in the identified area on the backside of the TTS has already been initiated and work will be taken up with the help of Horticulture department after finalisation of an agency.
An official from the sanitation wing said the main purpose of the plantation is air filtration and improving the environment in the TTS surrounding. Accordingly, Neem and other indigenous large trees will be planted at the site. Coconut and deodar plantation will also be taken up on the front side of the TTS as part of landscaping and beautification of the waste-handling site, he added.
Commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange said efforts are on to ensure a clean and green environment for those residing around the TTS. The entire area will be beautified, he said.
While waste dumping in large volumes still continues at the site, BMC deputy commissioner for sanitation Manoranjan Sahu said around 95 pc of the legacy waste at the site has already been processed with the help of windrows mechanism. Besides, the civic body has taken measures to ensure no fresh piling up of waste at the site, he added.
Sahu further said the good earth and compost processed at the TTS will also be used for plantation purpose, while the refuse derived fuel (RDF) and other residues will be lifted from the site gradually to reclaim the area. As lifting of the processed waste has already started, it may taken two to three months to clear it, he said.