Times of India – 18th October 2008.
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: The BMC’s plans for scientific closure of its dumping ground in Gorai  got a nod from the Centre on Thursday. The ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) cleared the civic body’s designs and project notes for the implementation of the carbon development mechanism (CDM)—part of the closing down plan—at the 19.96-hectare site.

In a first-of-its-kind plan, the civic body hopes not only to earn about 1.63 million carbon credits (CER), but also generate about 3MW to 4MW of electricity every day from the methane gas emitted from there. “The carbon credits will not only contribute to checking global warming, but will also earn us a handsome revenue of Rs 65.5 crore—at a minimum rate of US $10 for every CER assured by the World Bank,’’ said additional municipal commissioner R A Rajeev. The Gorai  closure is projected to be over by the end of this year and expected to earn CERs from May, 2009.

The BMC has appointed IL&FS as consultants for the Rs 50-crore project for which 40 wells have been dug up at the site to capture, treat and release the methane gas emitted from the site.

The civic body has already set aside crores of rupees for the closure of the Gorai  site as well as for waste management at three of its other major dumping grounds at Mulund, Deonar and Kanjur Marg. Those three grounds will be converted into sanitary landfill sites.