The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has confirmed that clearing the Deonar dumping yard will take at least 12 to 14 years and cost an estimated Rs.2,500 crore. This came after the Maharashtra government requested the BMC to biomine the site to free up land for the rehabilitation of Dharavi residents. BMC officers noted the difficulties involved, including the lack of space in the city to dispose of the byproducts from the biomining process.
The solid waste management (SWM) department has been working on biomining at the smaller Mulund dumping yard for six years without completing the task, underscoring the scale of the challenge at Deonar. According to a senior BMC officer, biomining 20 lakh tonnes of waste at Deonar would cost the corporation Rs.2,500 crore at Rs.1,200 per tonne.
The Deonar yard has been operational since 1927 and has accumulated waste up to a height of 40 meters, equivalent to a 13-storey building. The BMC is also running a waste-to-electricity project at the site.
The Maharashtra government is keen on using 125 acres of land from the Deonar site for rental housing for those excluded from the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP). However, local residents have expressed opposition to being relocated to land reclaimed from a dumping yard. The state has been in talks with the BMC about clearing the site, which belongs to the suburban collectorate but is in BMC’s possession.
With the BMC already investing significant funds in other projects, including the coastal road and Goregaon-Mulund tunnel, the enormous cost and time required to clear Deonar waste pose significant financial challenges.
