The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) is coming up with its first construction and demolition (C&D) waste plant to dispose concrete waste in an eco-friendly manner.
With nearly 1,000 tonnes of masonic waste generated in West and South-West Delhi alone, the civic body has initiated the process for setting up the plant with participation of a private firm. The proposed plant at Ghumanhera in West Delhi will have a capacity to process some 500 tonnes of C&D waste per day. It will recycle building waste like bricks, mortars and cement blocks to produce byproducts like tiles, aggregate and silt. At present Delhi has only one operational C&D waste plant at Burari in North-East Delhi which is owned by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC). The other one located at Shastri Park in East Delhi is awaiting the nod of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).
The South Corporation has decided to install the C&D waste plant on its own land on a public-private partnership model. SDMC officials said it will take a year for the plant to become operational as the entire tendering process will take two-three months. Once that is done, it will take six-seven months for the concessionaire to set up the plant and make it operational. “The South Delhi Corporation has already issued the Expression of Interest for
the project,” said SDMC spokesperson Mukesh Yadav. The private concessionaire will also put in place a transport network to collect waste from the colonies in the limits of the corporation, where waste is generated. The company will charge a minimum amount from the waste generators for collecting and transporting the waste.
According to estimates, nearly 3,000 metric tonne (MT) of C&D waste is generated per day in Delhi. Of these, nearly half the waste is generated in the SDMC area. Officials said the plant would recycle the waste material into tiles, road building and landfill material. “Primarily, the aggregate received after processing of C&D waste can be used for making concrete for road as well as for building construction. The recycled product can also be used for controlling soil erosion in river beds, meandering sites. The processed C&D waste can also be used for making of asphalted concrete mix for construction of road or for patch repairs,” said an official.
As per the proposal, the agency will use wet process technology in the plant to minimise nuisance due to excessive dust generated, and recover sand and silt during processing activity. The private concessionaire will also set up a control room to receive complaints regarding illegal dumping of concrete waste and redress the same within 72 hours failing which a penalty of Rs 2,500 per day will be imposed.