Hakim launches bio-mining of legacy waste at Howrah dumping ground

kolkata: Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim has launched the bio-mining of legacy waste and land reclamation work at Belgachia unicipal waste dumping ground in Howrah.

It is learnt that the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) along with Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) will be executing the project that aims to completely clean up the dumping ground in the next three years. There are about 10 lakh tonnes of legacy waste dumped there.

Launching the initiative, Hakim said that such an initiative has already been started by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation at the Dhapa dumping ground. He said that bio-mining of legacy waste will also help earn revenues in the form of new products.

“It is a modern technology which has been applied to clean the mountains of waste at Dhapa. This legacy waste is turned into products like Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) which is used in cement plants and for other purposes. A big amount of the waste is also turned into fertiliser which is used for horticulture purposes. Recently a construction and demolition material waste recycling plant was set up in New Town where such waste will be recycled to make materials for paver blocks used in road construction” Hakim said. The idea of ‘Waste to Wealth’ is finally materialising, he remarked.

He said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has worked a lot to develop Howrah which includes taking initiatives to rid the waterlogging issues.

“A big drainage project that will be executed by KEIIP will soon be implemented in Howrah,” he mentioned.