After a two-month long discussion, the civic body’s standing committee on Monday gave its nod for the Kanjurmarg landfill site project and agreed to reopen the proposal for Deonar dumping ground.

As per the plan, around 4,000 metric tonnes of garbage can be processed and treated at the Kanjurmarg landfill site. Following the closure of Gorai dumping ground, this will be the city’s third dumping ground, Deonar and Mulund being the other two. The civic body earlier had a plan to partially close the Deonar dumping ground and convert the remaining land into a sanitary landfill site. But, later this was rejected by the members owing to high cost.

As per the Municipal Solid Waste Management rules, 2000, garbage will be treated, but not haphazardly dumped at this plant using Bio reactor technology. The plan will be implemented on 65 hectares of land and will treat 4,000 metric tonnes of garbage at the cost of more than Rs 4487 crore for the next 25 years. The scientific disposal of waste will help BMC earn Rs 40 crore from 11 lakh carbon credits in the international market till 2012.

The Kanjurmarg site was originally a salt pan land that was handed over to the corporation after a Supreme Court directive in 2005. However, half of the land was in Coastal Regulation Zone that prevented any kind of development. In March, the Centre finally gave clearance for setting up the sanitary land fill on 80 hectares of land that falls in the non-CRZ area. The Bombay High Court is yet to give its verdict on the development of 80 hectares of land that has mangroves.

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