NAVI MUMBAI: Opposition to the proposed ₹ 2,192-crore waste-to-energy project at the Turbhe dumping ground is gathering momentum.
After local residents staged a protest in May, alleging that the dumping ground had already turned the area into a “gas chamber”, local corporators are stepping up the pressure on the municipal administration.
Kulkarni has submitted legal representations to the Maharashtra government, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), CIDCO and the MPCB, demanding that the project be shifted to an alternative site. “We are not opposed to the project. We only want it located away from residential areas. Kulkarni has also sought the detailed project report (DPR), tender details, IIT Bombay review and MPCB approvals. “Local representatives were not taken into confidence. There must be vested interests involved. Officials wanting this project should live here with their families. It claims the project is not hazardous to residents’ health and is necessary to address environmental problems.
Around 2 lakh people live here, and there is also an industrial belt,” Kulkarni said. He proposed a 25-acre plot owned by CIDCO about 2km away. It also said the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026, and CPCB norms require local bodies to undertake scientific waste management. The facility will process 1,500 tonnes of waste daily, and generate 27 MW of electricity, besides Bio-CNG, biochar and an advanced leachate-treatment plant, according to NMMC.
He said the process of inviting objections and suggestions from the public for the tendering process was conducted before the civic elections, when the NMMC was under administrative control. If the project is good, take it to another location,” Kulkarni said. NMMC has rejected allegations of irregularities and says the project will not be shifted out of Turbhe. The civic body said this would help eliminate legacy waste at Turbhe and reduce odour and pollution.
