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Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
BMC receives 3 bids for ₹2,368-crore Deonar waste bioremediation project
MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has received three bids for its ₹2,368-crore bioremediation project for the 185-lakh tonnes of legacy waste and reclamation of 110-hectare land at the Deonar dumping ground. It is considered one of the largest solid waste management tenders issued by the BMC in recent years. Mumbai, India - March 27, 2018: Fire at Deonar Dumping ground, India, on Tuesday, March 27, 2018. (Photo by Praful Gangurde/ Hindustan Times) (HT PHOTO) Navyuga Engineering Company Ltd, HG Infra Engineering Ltd, and ReSustainability Ltd. submitted their bids when it was opened on Tuesday evening. A senior civic official from BMC's SWM Department told HT that among the bidders, only ReSustainability has prior experience in solid waste management and currently handles BMC's waste-to-energy project at Deonar. The other two are infrastructure firms. Both Navyuga and HG Infra have previous collaborations with the Adani Group on large-scale infrastructure projects. Navyuga partnered with Adani on the Vijayawada Bypass project, while HG Infra is working with Adani on Uttar Pradesh's Ganga Expressway. The land at Deonar, presently covered with untreated waste, will be remediated over three years. Once cleared, it will be allocated for housing construction under the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP), being implemented by the Adani Group in coordination with the Maharashtra government's Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). Though 21 companies expressed interest during the pre-bid meeting in May, only three have submitted bids. Officials attributed the low turnout to stringent conditions, including a ban on joint ventures and the massive scale of waste to clear. The tender, originally floated on May 14, saw three deadline extensions. The contract is for three years and factors mobilisation and monsoon-related delays.
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
Committee set up to study how residents are affected by Kanurmarg landfill
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Tuesday constituted a committee to look into the consequences of the Kanjurmarg dumping ground on its surrounding large human habitation. A 2012 photo of the newly opened Kanjurmarg dumping ground where 4000 tonnes of waste was dumped everyday at Kanjurmarg (Photo by Praful Gangurde/HT Photo) (Hindustan Times) The division bench of justice GS Kulkarni and justice Arif Doctor was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) by Dayanand Stalin, director of NGO Vanashakti, challenging the civic body's move to expand the Kanjurmarg dumping ground. The bench appointed the principal secretary of the environment department, to lead the committee. It also directed the committee to brief the Urban Development Department (UDD) on creating a robust mechanism to identify suitable alternative dumping sites with modern amenities outside municipal areas. The 142-hectare Kanjurmarg plot, adjoining the Thane Flamingo Bird Sanctuary, was first identified as a potential dumping ground after the Bombay High Court ordered the closure of the Chincholi Bunder landfill site in 2001, citing health concerns raised by affected resident associations. In 2011, the Supreme Court directed using half of the Kanjurmarg plot as a dumping ground and the remaining be kept as a no-development zone. While passing this order, the Supreme Court also directed strict observation of pollution-related laws. The chief secretary of the environment department in 2009 claimed that the entire plot was a non-CRZ plot, as opposed to the observations of an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report claiming that at least 52 hectares of the plot fell under the Coastal Regulation Zone. An expert appraisal committee passed an environmental clearance in 2009 for the use of only 65.96 hectares as a dumping ground by an environmental clearance. A case challenging this clearance is pending before the high court, said the petition. Similarly, multiple clearances were granted for the project despite blatant violations of environmental norms. Multiple reports by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority, and the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) cited several violations in the implementation of the dumping ground in 2011. 'Despite show cause notice being issued (after 2012) by the MoEF, the PP (project proponent) continued to encroach upon the CRZ areas,' the PIL stated. It added that a Bioreactor Landfill Facility was being operated on the plot despite the MPCB only sanctioning Windrows Composting The petition further claimed that a fourth environmental clearance was granted by the State EIA Authority in October 2018 for expanding the existing projects, in terms of land use, without enhancing the capacity for treating solid waste. The clearance was granted despite the knowledge that the expansion would amount to encroachment on the Thane Flamingo Bird Sanctuary, the petition claims. The court has scheduled the next hearing for July 22 to ensure compliance with its directions.
Hindustan Times
03-07-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
‘Only those who suffer know the plight': HC slams unchecked Kanjurmarg dumping ground
MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Monday came down heavily on civic and state authorities for failing to rein in the unchecked operations of the Kanjurmarg dumping ground, warning that the site has now turned into a serious environmental and public health hazard. Mumbai - June 03, 2012 - The newly opened Kanjurmarg dumping ground where 4000 tonnes of waste is dumped everyday at kanjurmarg on sunday, India, June 03, 2012. (Photo by Praful Gangurde) (Hindustan Times) 'Only those who suffer such pollution know their plight,' remarked the division bench of Justices G S Kulkarni and Arif Doctor, as they heard a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by environmental group Vanashakti and others. The PIL challenges the continued dumping of municipal solid waste at the Kanjurmarg site, which is located in the heart of a densely populated area. Mumbai generates around 7,300 metric tonnes of waste every day, much of which ends up at two massive dumping grounds — Kanjurmarg and Deonar. The court observed with concern that both these sites are embedded within the city's fabric, surrounded by homes, schools, and offices. The bench urged the state government, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), and adjoining civic bodies in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) to seriously rethink the consequences of allowing such dumping grounds to operate in urban areas. 'A scientific approach is urgently required,' the court said, 'with robust, permanent waste management facilities developed outside zones of human habitation, and equipped with modern, environmentally compliant infrastructure.' Suggesting a more coordinated regional approach, the court proposed that large urban municipalities across the MMR could be clubbed together to identify alternative waste disposal sites — ones that do not compromise the well-being of city residents. 'There cannot be an ad hoc approach to this crisis, especially when lakhs of citizens are directly affected by the pollution and stench that emanates daily from these dumping grounds,' the bench noted. 'These sites have become an unfortunate, but integral part of the city. That must change.' The court also pointed to a broader environmental risk — warning that pollution from the dumping grounds doesn't remain confined to the local area. Air currents carry foul odours and toxic emissions across the city, it observed, contributing to Mumbai's worsening air quality. 'The haze in the city of Mumbai is created by pollution. A significant part of it stems from smoke and odour generated by these dumping grounds. This contribution cannot be overlooked,' it said. The justices did not mince words when speaking about the failure of municipal authorities. They said the administration had failed to safeguard citizens' fundamental right to a clean and healthy environment, and that people living near the Kanjurmarg site have endured prolonged and intolerable suffering due to the odour and pollution. The court has scheduled the next hearing in the matter for July 8, expressing hope that senior officials in the state and municipal bodies will treat the issue with the seriousness it deserves. 'With their wisdom and resources, we trust that authorities will act in the larger public interest,' the bench concluded. 'This city deserves a permanent and scientifically sound solution that protects the rights and health of its people.'
Hindustan Times
29-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
ISIS terror suspect Saquib Nachan dies in hospital
MUMBAI: Saquib Abdul Hamid Nachan, terror suspect from Padgha on the outskirts of Mumbai, died in a Delhi hospital on Saturday. Nachan was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his alleged links to the banned Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in December 2023, along with 15 other alleged ISIS members. They were picked up by the federal investigating agency during searches in Padgha, a village in Thane district, as part of a nationwide crackdown on ISIS. Thane, India - November 22, 2017: Saquib Nachan convict of 2003 bomb blast case. (Photo by Praful Gangurde/ Hindustan Times) (Praful Gangurde) Nachan had been lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail but suffered a stroke on Tuesday, when was admitted to Deendayal Upadhyay Hospital for treatment. He was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital on Wednesday. Nachan's lawyer Samsher Ansari said doctors declared him dead at around 11.30am on Saturday. NIA officials claim Nachan had suffered strokes twice before. Ansari said jail authorities informed the family on Monday and he, along with Nachan's elder son, rushed to Delhi. He filed an application in the Patiala House Courts so that his client could be shifted to a facility where he could receive specialised treatment. The 67-year-old terror suspect, an alleged key ISIS operative in Maharashtra, was a former office-bearer of the banned Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). Over the years, he has been linked to various terror outfits and convicted in several terror cases. He also served a ten-year prison sentence for the series of bomb blasts at railway stations in Mumbai in 2002-03, which killed more than ten people. According to the NIA, Nachan was recruiting impressionable Muslim youth to become hardline extremists. He had declared Padgha village a 'liberated zone' and encouraged youth to relocate to the village, where they were allegedly trained to wage war against the Indian state. The NIA says Nachan was the self-declared leader of these youth and administered bayath (oath of allegiance to the Khalifa of ISIS) to people joining the ISIS module in Padgha. In December 2023, NIA conducted searches at 44 locations in Maharashtra and Karnataka, in a joint operation with the Anti-Terror Squad. They claimed to have found weapons, cash and Hamas flags in Padgha, Kalyan, Mira Road and Pune, and in some places in Bengaluru. The accused, the NIA had said, were operating on the directions of foreign handlers and had been involved in terrorist activities, including the manufacture of improvised explosive devices IEDs), to further the violent agenda of ISIS.
Hindustan Times
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Probe charges against assistant commissioner: HC tells TMC
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has ordered Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) to consider initiating departmental and criminal proceedings against the assistant commissioner of Diva division after a petitioner alleged before the court that he was protecting illegal constructions by charging ₹ 200 per square feet from builders who were putting up brazenly unauthorised structures in Mumbra and Diva divisions. Thane, India, January ,07, 2015:The number of illegal constructions in Kalwa was reported more than Mumbra last year. Record of action taken against illegal constructions in 2014 ,India, January,07,2015 (Photo By Praful Gangurde) The division bench of justice GS Kulkarni and justice Arif Doctor has also directed the Thane civic chief to submit a report in three weeks, disclosing action taken against the assistant commissioner, Faruk Shaikh. The judges passed the order after noticing allegations made by a petitioner, Feroz Badruddin Khan, who has filed a petition complaining about seven illegal buildings in Mumbra. In his petition, Khan specifically claimed that the assistant municipal commissioner 'was privy to an unauthorised construction of 13 illegal buildings', and that the civic official was charging ₹ 200 per square feet for unauthorised constructions. The judges said that as a constitutional court, they cannot overlook such serious statements made on oath and ordered the TMC commissioner to undertake a preliminary inquiry into the allegations and consider initiating criminal proceedings, 'for the reason that such allegation against the officer and his accomplice prima facie amounts to an allegation of an offence being committed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 or other relevant laws.' During the course of hearing, TMC also informed the court that they have completely demolished 10 of the 17 illegal buildings constructed on agricultural lands belonging to a widow, Subhadra Takle, pursuant to earlier court orders. They added that two of the remaining buildings have been demolished to the extent of 80% and remaining five were partially demolished and the work of demolition was going on. However, on Monday, a huge mob gathered at the site, known locally as Khan Compound, and took to the streets to protest against the TMC's ongoing demolition drive. As JCB machines arrived at the site for the demolition, angry residents raised strong objections. Heated arguments erupted between TMC officials and the locals. To control the tense situation, a large police force was deployed in the area. The crowd, however, dispersed after an hour.
