Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has provided land at Atkoli to the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) for developing a landfill site for waste disposal. Thane Municipal Commissioner Saurabh Rao inspected this site on Tuesday evening. He instructed the Solid Waste Management Department to properly maintain the buffer zone around the landfill area. The new site is expected to address Thane's growing waste disposal needs.
During the inspection, Commissioner Rao clarified that the landfill site would not cause any inconvenience to the surrounding area. He also directed that proper traffic management should be implemented to ensure the swift movement of waste-carrying vehicles. Necessary facilities for workers at the site should be set up immediately. Rao emphasized that solid waste management should be carried out scientifically without any errors.
The state government has transferred land at Atkoli village to TMC for scientific waste disposal. The corporation has taken possession of the land and demarcated its boundaries. An integrated project is being set up on this site for solid waste disposal. Commissioner Rao gathered information about the site, its layout, and waste transportation arrangements.
Additional Commissioner Prashant Rode, Deputy Commissioner (Solid Waste) Tushar Pawar, Medical Health Officer Dr. Rani Shinde, Deputy City Engineer Gunwant Zhambre, Executive Engineer Bhagwan Shinde, and others were present during the inspection.
The Diva landfill site, which was being used for waste disposal in the Thane Municipal area, reached its capacity in January 2023. Subsequently, a pre-processing center was started at Daighar in October 2023. However, this project is currently closed due to some technical changes required. It will be restarted soon. Meanwhile, the capacity of the Bhandarli landfill site is also limited.
Due to the need for a new site for the scientific disposal of solid waste in the Thane Municipal area, a request was made to the state government. CM Shinde responded positively, resulting in the availability of land at Atkoli village for waste management.
Relief for CP Tank Area Residents
In a related development, Municipal Commissioner Rao announced that the new landfill site in Atkoli would significantly reduce the burden on the CP Tank waste transfer center in Wagle Estate. This comes as welcome news for residents near CP Tank, who have long endured nuisances from accumulated waste. Rao stated that from August 20, the CP Tank facility would function solely as a waste transfer center, without storing waste. He has instructed officials to maintain cleanliness in the area, ensure the smooth movement of garbage trucks to avoid traffic congestion, and take measures to minimize inconvenience to citizens.