Report by the Municipal Corporation, Meerut regarding disposal of legacy waste at Lohiya Nagar, 30/12/2023
Report by the Municipal Corporation, Meerut in Original Application No 108 of 2023 (Lokesh Khurana Vs State of Uttar Pradesh & Others).
In terms of the NGT order, November 21, 2023, Meerut Nagar Nigam has formulated the phase-wise report along with budgetary provisions in three plans - Plan A, Plan B and Plan C in accordance with the availability of funds and prevailing circumstances. That over and above, the plans are bifurcated in 3 stages: the short term, the mid term and long term. At present, the total consolidated fund allocation under the State Finance Commission to Meerut Nagar Nigam is approximately Rs 18 to 20 crores per month out of 275 crores annually.
The corporation has no other source to meet the expenses which are required for quick disposal of legacy waste at Lohiya Nagar. Meerut Municipal Corporation has formulated 3 plans along with budgetary provisions, which is required for the disposal of legacy waste at Lohiya Nagar.
The Lohiya Nagar legacy waste dump site, approximately 20 years old is currently undergoing processing and land reclamation through bio-remediation techniques with a capacity of 600 TPD. To efficiently dispose of both legacy and fresh waste generated in the city, the processing capacity of the site will be enhanced based on future funding availability.
Meerut Nagar Nigam will focus on enhancing the legacy waste processing plant's capacity from 600 TPD to 4500 TPD. For this, a budget of 50 crore is required. National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) proposed during discussions, a transit order is planned at the Lohia Nagar legacy waste site.
The proposal submitted to NHAI for the plant upgrade estimates a cost of approximately Rs 50 crores, which will be transferred to Meerut Nagar Nigam after NHAI's competent approval. This upgrade will enable the processing of approximately 1.35 lakh metric tonnes of waste per month. With the increased capacity, both the existing legacy waste can be processed and land can be reclaimed in approximately 9-12 months of the upgraded plant's installation depending upon seasonal factors.
After the land reclamation through bio-remediation, old processing equipment will be relocated to nearby land owned by the Meerut Development Authority for future use. Following the processing of the legacy waste at Lohia Nagar, the reclaimed land and the adjacent land owned by the Meerut Development Authority will be used to establish an integrated municipal solid waste processing facility with a capacity of 1000 TPD. This facility will consist of wet waste processing units, dry waste processing units and construction and demolition waste processing units.