KMC looks to complete Goragacha batch mix plant within 3 months

Kolkata: Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has already started construction of a batch mix plant at Goragacha Road in Taratala. KMC hopes to complete work for the plant within three months.

Mayor Firhad Hakim held a meeting with senior KMC officials on Monday and took stock of the progress of work for construction of the batch mix plant.

The move to set up a batch mix plant had began soon after the eastern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned the use of hot mix plants in the city on October 2018, forcing KMC to down shutters of its two hot mix plants at Palmer Bazar near Entally and Goragacha Road in Taratala.

The civic body is working on reducing pollution at these two plants as per recommendations of the West Bengal Pollution Control Board.

"We had made plans to set up a batch mix plant at Shirakole in Usthi, South 24-Parganas. But it has not materialised yet. However, our batch mix plant at Goragacha is coming up. It will be semi-automatic and most importantly environment-friendly," said an official of KMC's Road department.

It has been decided that a state-of-the-art mastic plant will also come up at a place away from the city. The Public Works Department will execute the construction work but the funds will be allocated jointly by KMC, PWD and Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority.

"The mastic plant will involve a high investment and so we have to procure funds together," the official added.

It may be mentioned that KMC has formed a Road Advisory Quality & Environment Committee to explore the ways of using environment-friendly material as an alternative of hot mix for road construction and maintenance.

Apart from KMC, PWD and KMDA, there are officials of Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC) and experts from IIT Kharagpur in the committee as well.