Kerala awards Rs 95.24 crore contract for biomining of legacy dumpsites in 20 towns
Project marks a decisive step in solid waste management
Trivandrum / March 6, 2024
Thiruvananthapuram, March 06: In a major step to bring about a qualitative change to its urban landscape, Kerala has awarded two contracts totalling Rs 95.24 crore to a Nagpur-based company for biomining and retrieval of legacy dumpsites in 20 towns as part of the World Bank funded Kerala Solid Waste Management Project (KSWMP) under the Local Self Government Department (LSGD).
The contract was signed here today, in the presence of LSGD Minister Shri MB Rajesh by KSWMP Project Director, Dr. Divya S Iyer IAS and Shri Assif Hussaain, Associate Vice-President, M/s. SMS Ltd, the firm which won the tender for executing the work.
“This is a decisive step towards achieving the ambitious goals of the sustainable and scientific waste management campaign aimed at turning the entire state clean and green,”the Minister said on the occasion.
Huge heaps of solid waste piled up over the years in 20 towns across the state will be removed through this project, leading to retrieval of 66 acres of prime urban land, Shri Rajesh said.
The land redeemed through the project will be utilised for creating waste management projects such as state-of-the-art garbage processing facilities. The time-frame set for completion of the project is 270 days, of which six months are monsoon season, he added.
Dr. Divya S Iyer said the project formed a key component of the Malinya Muktam Nava Keralam campaign progressing in brisk pace across the state.
“Through this project, state-of-the-art and scientific world-class waste management systems will be made available to all Urban Local Bodies in the state,” she added.
KSWMP had tendered out the work for biomining and remediation of 20 legacy waste dumpsites for an estimated cost of Rs. 100 crores. The tender process was carried out as per the World Bank Procurement Regulations, which emphasizes on completion of the work under strict compliance with the environmental and social safeguards.
The contract for biomining and remediation of these 20 dumpsites was awarded to M/s. SMS Limited, for a contract value of Rs. 95.24 crores. The work is expected to be completed within a year across all the sites.
Close to 66 acres of prime urban and suburban land will be retrieved through the project. These 20 legacy dumpsites are estimated to collectively contain over 5.60 lakh cubic metres of waste with the quantity varying 2000 cubic metres to 1,00,000 cubic metres. Most of these sites have been in existence for decades, causing health hazards and environmental degradation in their neighbourhood.
The towns benefiting from the project are Chalakkudy, Iritty, Kalamassery, Kalpetta, Kasaragod, Kayamkulam, Koothattukulam, Kothamangalam, Kottarakkara, Kunnamkulam, Kuthuparamba, Malappuram, Manjeri, Mavelikkara, Muvattupuzha, North Paravoor, Palakkad, Vadavathoor, Vatakara and Wadakkancherry.
The biomining and waste remediation works will be carried out in compliance with the ‘Guidelines for Disposal of Legacy Waste (Old Municipal Waste)’of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Various fractions of materials emerging from the biomining—Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) would be transported to be utilised by cement plants and waste-to-energy plants while Inert Fractions like soil, compost, metal, plastic, fabric, leather, construction debris, glass, and other inert materials would be recycled into landfills and for road construction after due testing of the contents.
This project would qualitatively transform the condition in and around these dumpsites. It would also enable Government of Kerala to honour the directions of the National Green Tribunal.
Legacy garbage dump sites will soon become redundant with the installation of scientific waste management infrastructure as part of the Malinya Muktham Nava Keralam campaign.
KSWMP is an ambitious Rs.2,400 Crore (US$300 Million) project that proposes to transform the urban landscape of the State by implementing the best of practices in Solid Waste Management (SWM) across 6 Municipal Corporations and 87 Municipalities.
ENDS
