Mumbai’s massive infrastructure and redevelopment projects produce an astounding 8,500 metric tonnes of construction and demolition (C&D) debris every day. Compared to the 6,500 metric tonnes of solid trash garbage that are collected daily in the city, this is a much larger amount.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is thus having difficulty with rubbish collection and treatment.
Concrete, dust, building materials, debris, and rubble produced during the construction, maintenance, and demolition of any structure are all considered construction and demolition (C&D) waste. Officials claim that debris produced during home remodelling, redevelopment projects, infrastructure work, and unauthorised construction are the main sources of construction and demolition waste in Mumbai.
Large-scale infrastructure projects, like as metro projects and mega-concretization projects, are currently taking place in Mumbai, and their construction sites constitute a significant source of garbage.
Bhushan Gagrani, the Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai, claims that there are over 2,200 private construction sites in the city.
According to experts, rubble and remnants like concrete and dust are usually left untreated after a demolition, while recycling elements like pipes and steel are kept by the developers.
For between Rs 200 and Rs 250 per metric tonne, most people hire private companies to remove the debris from their remodelling projects. These organisations typically dispose of their C&D trash in dumping sites, mangroves, etc. Because of this, the waste has been piling up throughout the years and is still scattered throughout the city’s open spaces.
Thirty percent of the legacy waste disposed of at the Deonar dumping ground is building debris, according to Kiran Dighavkar, deputy municipal commissioner (solid waste management).
The dust from building debris is left in the air, contributing to the city’s deteriorating Air Quality Index (AQI), because it is unlawfully dumped in open spaces and dumping sites without coverings or treatment.
According to pulmonologist and epidemiologist Dr. Lancelot Pinto, exposure to construction dust has been associated with a number of illnesses, including autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular disease, respiratory infections, asthma, cerebrovascular disease, and cancers like stomach, rectal, and esophageal tumours.
He continued by quoting statistics from an international, community-based study on the “Global differences in lung function by region,” which revealed that lung function in South Asia is more than one-third worse than that of its peers. Seven distinct socioeconomic areas and 17 countries participated in the 2013 survey.
Dr. Pinto claims that over time, Mumbai has seen a rise in the overall number of people suffering from viral infections and persistent coughs.
The majority of the wasted material went untreated until last year because the civic authority lacked a facility to handle building detritus.
But since 2023, the BMC has increased its watchfulness and begun punishing offenders. More than 1,373 instances of unapproved C&D waste dumping were reported between November 2023 and December 2024, according to data provided by BMC. During this time, the BMC collected penalties from violators totalling Rs 72.10 lakh.
The BMC put into service two processing facilities at the end of 2024, one in Dahisar and the other in Shilphata. These facilities can recycle and treat about 600 metric tonnes of construction and demolition trash every day.
BMC officials acknowledge that even with the new plants in place, they are only able to manage less than 10% of the city’s daily production of construction and demolition trash. Currently, the BMC’s debris waste processing plants can only manage 1,200 metric tonnes of waste each day, despite Mumbai producing over 8,000 metric tonnes of construction and demolition debris daily.
Citizens are responding weakly to even the current facilities. Only 10,400 metric tonnes have been handled by these two units combined in the two months since they were put into service. According to senior officials, these plants are hardly using half of their full potential.
Source: The Indian Express
