Solid waste disposal plant of the Berhampur Municipal Corporation facing roadblocks

The fate of Rs 80 crore proposed solid waste disposal plant of the Berhampur Municipal Corporation hangs in balance. Initially, the civic body had decided to set up the waste disposal plant at Chandini Hills in the city. However, it was forced to shift the venue to Mahuda on the city outskirts because of space crunch. Now again, the project faces uncertainty because of stiff resistance from the local residents. The International Finance Corporation is funding the proposed plant, which would come under the Urban Infrastructure Development for Small and Medium Towns. “We have already built the boundary wall and the gate. Electrification was under progress and the plant may come up with in few years,” said municipal commissioner Akshya Kumar Mahanty. The civic body has spent Rs 60 lakh at Chandini Hills for the construction of infrastructure. “Now, we have been allotted 37 acres at Mahuda. We were earlier provided only 10 acres at Chandini Hills,” said Mahanty.

The residents of the Sukunda Math locality had also objected to the practice of dumping garbage in open areas at Chandini Hills earlier. Now, the residents of Mahuda have also opposed the plant. “If the solid waste disposal plant would come up at Mahuda, the life of more than 30,000 people and 10,000 domestic animals would be in jeopardy,” said Mahuda sarpanch Sadhana Mohanty. In a memorandum to the revenue divisional commissioner (southern division), the local representatives urged the administration not to go ahead with the plant. “If the corporation would go ahead with the project, we would take to the street,” he said.

The city generates about 150 metric tonnes of garbage everyday. The city houses 25 apartments and 12 big hotels that generate about 100 metric tonnes of garbage per month in an average. As many as 35 carriers, including 15 tractors, one dredger and four loaders, have been pressed into service to lift the garbage from 41 points. However, heaps of garbage are often found piled up at various corners across the city. Source: The Telegraph