The Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) budget for 2022-23 presented by M.S. Shobha, Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Taxation, Finance and Appeals on Apr. 28, has made certain important announcements for the city including the clearing of legacy waste accumulated at Vidyaranyapuram Sewage Farm (Excel Plant).
If the legacy waste of nearly 3.08 lakh tonnes is cleared, it will drastically improve the cleanliness quotient of the city. The budget proposes to use a biomining process to clear the waste that has piled up over the years, causing unbearable stench. Rs.7 crore has been set aside for the project. Bioremediation is the best process to clear the waste. It is a process of treating contaminated soil and subsurface material, by altering environmental conditions to stimulate growth of micro-organisms and to degrade the target pollutants.
Though the proposal to clear the legacy waste had been approved by the Government, the project was caught in a quagmire. Once the legacy waste is cleared, an estimated 27 acres of land at Vidyaranyapuram can be reclaimed by the MCC. In addition, it will stop groundwater pollution.
Another important announcement in the budget is the allocation of Rs. 5 crore for the establishment of a C&D (construction and demolition) waste recycling plant with a capacity of handling 100 tonnes of building debris per day.
Dumping of construction debris is a big issue in less populated places and on Ring Roads. Every day, Mysuru generates over 150 tonnes of C&D waste. People carry such waste in trucks and dump them under the cover of darkness. The dumping usually is carried out in less-populated areas and on the Ring Road. It is difficult to identify such people and bring them to book.
Also, lack of C&D Waste Treatment Plant was one of the factors having a negative bearing on the city in its performance in the Swachh Bharat Survey. The budget has 9.05 acres of land for the purpose at Sathagalli and Rs. 5 crore has been allocated in this budget for the project that is estimated to cost Rs. 15 crore.
