Municipal Corporation of Tirupati finds solution for debris menace

Tirupati: Handling of the construction and demolition (C&D) waste is a pressing problem that the urban local bodies (ULBs) more so the rapidly growing cities like Tirupati facing.

All these years there is no scientific management of the construction waste leaving the debris to cause harm to environment. It is needless to say that the construction waste has turned a major problem in cities like Tirupati where such waste is significantly increasing year after year due to the construction boom thanks to the ever-growing pilgrim economy.

In other words, the handling of construction waste became a major problem for the civic body. Against the backdrop, the smart city project came handy to the Municipal Corporation of Tirupati (MCT) to get rid of the construction waste by ensuring its scientific management which in turn helps to enhance the city environment clean and tidy.

The Corporation set up the C&D waste processing unit on a five-acre site at Tukivakam village, adjacent to corporation compost yard, near the city which started its operation with portable equipment and expected to become a full pledge unit in four months.

Speaking to The Hans India, Municipal Engineer Mohammad Jani said that the project will prove to be a boon in the sense that it would ensure scientific management of construction and demolition waste, lay the path for reuse of waste materials creating wealth and provide an effective mechanism for the builders, realtors and others for disposing of the waste. Most importantly help the corporation for protection of environment.

Further, the MCT is not incurring any expenditure except providing the required land to ‘Pro Enviro C&D Waste Management Private Limited’ to set up the unit in Tukivakam, he said, adding that the project developed under build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) will be handed over to the civic body after 20 years.

Pro Enviro, Tukivakam project in-charge D Srinivasulu Reddy said that the firm started its operation with portable machinery to extend its services under smart city project without waiting for four months till the project becomes fully operational. Reddy said three projects including at Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati set up by Pro Enviro in the State following an agreement with the AP government for management of construction waste, as part of smart city project being implemented in the pilgrim city.

Pro Enviro is charging a reasonable Rs 450 per tonne for the collection and transport of the waste, he said adding that this will help the builders, realtors and also individual building owners and other disposing of the construction waste in the city.

The waste materials collected will be segregated for reuse for various purposes including in tiles, brick industry, manufacturing paver blocks, filling roads, low lying areas, highways etc. while the sand extracted also having wide range of usage also help overcome to meet the growing demand for sand in the construction industry and other sectors,

he explained. Any one requires the service can contact toll-free number 8978250101 for disposal of the construction waste. Social activist M Gopal Reddy welcoming the corporation move to set up the project said that there is every need for scientific disposal of construction waste which is more in Tirupati compared to other cities due to increasing construction activities including building roads and other development works.