In its effort to stop rampant illegal dumping of construction and demolition (C&D) waste, the BBMP has decided to identify service providers who will collect and transport them to dedicated processing plants.
The civic body has also prepared a proposal to establish five new processing plants. Right now, the city has two processing plants, but they operate below their capacity as they are located far away.
A senior Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) official explained: "Because these plants are on the outskirts, the transportation cost for C&D waste is high. So, many contractors and developers illegally dump the waste in open spaces or lake beds."
A worker at one of the processing plants noted that they only receive 100 to 200 tonnes per day out of the 2,500 tonnes of C&D waste produced in the city as estimated by the BBMP.
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The civic body has identified service providers to transport this waste, monitored by ward-level officers.
"While the marshals will continue to prevent and monitor illegal dumping, ward-level officials will be responsible for overseeing those who generate C&D waste and ensuring its proper disposal," clarified a senior BBMP official.
Out of the five C&D waste processing plants the BBMP proposes to establish to improve accessibility, four of them will process 750 tonnes per day (TPD), while one plant will handle 1,000 TPD.
The new plants are expected to reduce transportation costs due to their convenient location and deter illegal dumping.
Sources within the BBMP reveal that over 1,000 tonnes of such waste currently remain in the city.
"We impose fines on individuals caught dumping such waste. However, it is not feasible to monitor every road, and people tend to dump waste during the night. Therefore, it is necessary to streamline the process at the policy level and monitor the source," explained a BBMP marshal on duty in RR Nagar.