Biomining of legacy waste at Dhapa dumping ground to resume soon
Times of India | 27 April 2025
12 Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will soon invite a fresh tender to resume biomining of the legacy waste at the Dhapa dumping ground. This initiative aims to prepare the wasteland to accommodate additional waste coming from Howrah after the collapse of the Belgachia dumping ground.
The KMC solid waste management department in Feb decided to blacklist the private agency initially entrusted with the biomining task for failing to meet the deadline.
In response to a query from Trinamool Congress (TMC) councillor Biswarup De, Debabrata Majumdar, the member of the mayor-in-council overseeing the solid waste management department, acknowledged that efforts were being made to resume biomining work at Dhapa.
According to a civic official, the removal of legacy waste at the Dhapa garbage dumping ground through biomining faced a setback following the termination of the contract with an agency engaged by the KMC for failing to meet a three-year deadline set in 2020. A source in the KMC claimed that although the civic authorities initially agreed to extend the deadline (set by WBPCB) until 2025, considering the volume of work affected by the pandemic, the KMC solid waste management department had no choice but to terminate the contract. Out of 40 lakh tonne of legacy waste, the agency extracted only 15 lakh tonne, confirmed a civic official.
Currently, the Dhapa garbage dumping ground receives 5,000 tonne waste, including 500 tonne from Salt Lake, New Town, and Panihati. Biomining is a process that uses microorganisms (microbes) to extract metals of economic interest from waste. "A good part of the waste was being used for producing fertiliser, compressed natural gas, and various types of plastic furniture," said a civic official. The KMC solid waste management department also plans to set up several plants to use waste for producing power and other valuable products.
The sudden closure of biomining work is considered a setback, especially as the civic authorities are expecting a central grant to construct a modern sanitary landfill site at Dhapa, which will handle most of the waste generated daily,said a civic official.