Palghar: The solid waste management (SWM) project in Boisar, which has been stalled for many years due to lack of space, is set to begin soon with all parties concerned agreeing to buy private land, to be used along with Tarapur MIDC's open space, to manage solid waste generated in the region. The eight gram panchayats – Boisar, Saravali, Kolawade, Kumbhvali, Paam, Salwad, Pasthal and Khairepada – generate around 15-20 tonnes of solid waste daily.
Zilla parishad (ZP) president Prakash Nikam and ZP member Purnima Dhodi had asked Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for his intervention to resolve the issue. As per Mr Shinde's instructions, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of Collector Govind Bodke on Dec 19, attended by various ZP officials, village sarpanches, office bearers of the Tarapur Industrial Manufacturers Association (TIMA) and representatives of Citizens Forum of Boisar.
It was unanimously decided at the meeting that TIMA should purchase open land adjacent to the open spaces in MIDC with the help of CSR funds available with big establishments in Tarapur MIDC. The TIMA will also erect the SWM plant. The MIDC is expected to hand over the land at nominal rates. A location for the plant has already been decided and the process to obtain the private land parcel will begin soon.
A committee under the chairmanship of the Collector has been constituted to expedite this issue. The Collector has also asked gram panchayat sarpanches and village development officers to strictly implement the ban on the use of single-use plastics and start segregation of wet and dry waste by setting a system for their separate collection.
Considering the future development of Boisar and its surroundings, it was decided to develop an SWM facility with a capacity to handle 30-50 tonnes per day. A plot of at least 10,000sq m will be required to produce bio-fuel and compost from domestic wet solid waste to erect such a project. Conversion of two open space MIDC plots – namely OS-27 (7,824sq m) and OS-64 (1,438sq m) – into amenity plots will help with the availability of space. Permission from MIDC's Minor Modification Committee, to reclassify these recently converted industrial plots into open spaces, will be obtained soon.
