Bids for excavation, segregation and processing of the municipal solid waste failed yet again, as cost exceeded NHAI's budget.
The bids invited by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for excavation, segregation and processing of the municipal solid waste (MSW) at Ghazipur landfill have failed — yet again. The reason? The cost exceeded NHAI’s budget for the project.
This fact was disclosed by a senior official in NHAI on condition of anonymity.
“NHAI has earmarked Rs 260 crore for the initiative — of which Rs 50 crore was sanctioned by the ministry of road transport and highways. But private agencies are demanding Rs 360 crore for working on 65 per cent of the municipal waste,” the officer confirmed.
Under constant pressure from the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), NHAI invited the bids for a third time in a row. But unfortunately, things couldn’t be finalised owing to budgetary constraints. Now, NHAI will invite another round of bids by December-end.
The proposal for using Ghazipur landfill waste for building embankments for roads was tabled after Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) conducted a test on around 200-tonne sample collected from three different locations at the Ghazipur landfill site. It then gave a positive report, and said that 65-75 per cent of the “inert” material — separated from the accumulated waste — could be used for building roads.
According to the official, CRRI submitted its report in 2015, and then in November 2016 an agreement was signed between EDMC, NHAI, ministry of road transport and highways, and ministry of urban development.
The official admitted that owing to NGT’s pressure, NHAI was in a rush to start work as early as November but “later decided that the waste would be used on 2-3 km stretch on an experimental basis to assess performance before going large scale.”
