The official told TOI that the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) administration had kept the plant operational till November 2023 before shutting it down to initiate the process of handing over the landfill area to the Sustainable Business Development (SusBDe) company of Netherlands.
The Dutch company was supposed to start fabrication and civil work at the landfill site to set up its plant for processing 1,200 metric tonnes of municipal solid waste generated daily into high quality compost, compressed biomass (CBG) and valuable recyclables daily. “It was during this period when the Swachh team inspected the Bhandewadi landfill site and found the treatment plant non-functional,” the official said.
NMC is yet to get report card having details on the markings, said deputy municipal commissioner (SWM) Dr Gajendra Mahalle.
Under the GFC, NMC had applied for three-star rating for which there were 16 parameters including processing by bulk waste generators, processing of dry and wet waste, banning plastic carry bags and charging user fees. “If there is negative report for any of the parameters, all the efforts like door-to-door collection, segregation of waste at source, grievance redressal, scientific landfills etc go in vain,” the official said.
Three different teams conducted inspection in the city under the Swachh Survekshan. In the report card of the first team, the city scored nearly 98% in door-to-door waste collection, 100% in waste segregation, 89% in waste generation and processing, 77% in sanitation of landfills and 99% in cleanliness of residential and market areas, 100% in cleanliness of water bodies and 97% in cleanliness of public toilets.
The second team, which inspected the city to verify claims on reuse of treated sewage water, too gave a positive report. This helped the city secure water+ certificate.
Usually, the Swachh survey is completed before October and results are declared later. This time, the survey got delayed and the star rating team which was supposed to visit the city somewhere in September or October carried out the inspection in December.