The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will make provision of space for dumping of construction debris in the city’s new Development Control (DC) rules. DP for the city will have a comprehensive policy for debris dumping as per the union urban development department (UDD) norms. The norms say that there should be an institutional mechanism to take care of the collection, transportation, intermediate storage (if necessary), utilization and disposal of construction and demolition waste. The UDD norms say that the civic authority should notify that no person should dispose of construction or demolition waste on the streets, pavements, storm water drains/open land owned by the municipality or the government.
About 100 tons of debris, which includes concrete, bricks, cement plaster and iron, is generated in Pune every day. The environment status report of the PMC admitted that illegal dumping of construction rubble in the riverbeds and hills continued in the city. Civic activists have time and again expressed concern about the rivers getting affected due to dumping of debris in riverbeds. In many instances debris is dumped in the green belt of the river, affecting its natural flow. Several marriage halls have encroached upon the river near Mhatre bridge. This could prove dangerous during the monsoon as dumping of debris has reduced the river’s carrying capacity.
