Pimpri-Chinchwad: Moshi garbage depot full, Govt sits on PCMC proposal for second one for 10 years

Pimpri-Chinchwad, which has a population of 27 lakh as per the 2011 Census, generates 1,100-tonne garbage every day and this, officials said, is going to rise in future.

PCMC officials said on Sunday the state government is yet to take up the civic body’s proposal regarding the setting up of a new garbage depot for a good 10 years now. Even before the Moshi garbage depot started running out of space, PCMC officials said they had moved a proposal before the state government for setting up a second one at Punawale, on the left side of the Pune-Mumbai if one is coming from Pune side.

“We had sent the proposal to the state government about 10 years back for setting up of our second garbage depot at Punawale. This is because at that time Moshi garbage depot was running out of space,” PCMC joint city engineer Sanjay Kulkarni told this reporter on Sunday.

The PCMC had identified a 61 acre land for setting up the garbage depot at Punawale. “The land belongs to the forest department. As per the norms, we will have to hand over the same amount of land to the forest department in lieu of getting their land. It is not necessary that the land should be in Pimpri-Chinchwad. It can be anywhere in the state…,” said Kulkarni.

The PCMC administration said despite repeated follow-ups with the state government, the proposal is yet to be taken up. “The proposal has been pending for a good 10 years. We hope the government will give its nod so that the city’s waste can be taken care of,” he said.

As of now, PCMC has been able to “manage” the garbage generated daily.

“We have set up different projects at the Moshi garbage depot like bio-mining, waste to energy and waste to biogas. Bio-mining is helping us dispose of 30-year-old garbage lying at the depot. Because of these projects we are using up the entire 1,100-tonne waste that is dumped at the garbage depot daily. This is how we have been able to manage the waste so far,” Kulkarni said.

“But this situation cannot last long. As the city grows, the garbage generated so will also spiral. We need another garbage depot. For a city as big as Pimpri-Chinchwad, two garbage depots will serve the purpose,” he added.

According to local corporator Rahul Kalate, one of the reasons why the state government has not been able to approve PCMC’s proposal is the strong opposition from local residents against setting up a new garbage depot in Punawale.

“This is because Punawale and neighbouring areas like Tathawade, Wakad, Pimple Saudagar have seen rapid development in last 10-15 years. IT parks have come up, several residential and commercial complexes have also sprung up in these areas. In view of this, a garbage depot will lead to stink and mosquito problems. That is the reason there is strong opposition for the garbage depot,” Kalate said.

Local residents instead are urging the PCMC to set up a water filtration plant. “Currently, Punawale and neighbouring areas get water from the Nigdi filtration plant. The water reaches them after a 28 km long journey. If the 61-acre land where a garbage depot is proposed is used for setting up a water filtration plant, it will be a huge relief for local residents. Therefore, the residents are opposing the depot and instead of pressing for the filtration plant,” Kalate added.

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