NASA Image: Smoke from the fire which broke out on 28 Jan 2016 at the Deonar dumping ground, Mumbai
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has sought an extension (for the seventeenth time, as per some news reports) on a Bombay High Court deadline to stop dumping of solid waste at the Deonar site.
The BMC claimed that if the Deonar dumping ground were to be shut down now, then the entire city would be littered with dirt and this would have a huge impact on public health and the environment.
As per a report in the Free Press Journal, this was mentioned in an affidavit filed by the Solid Waste Management (SWD) department before the Bombay High Court earlier this week, wherein the civic body has claimed that it would need time until June 2023 to scientifically treat the garbage at Deonar site.
Earlier this week, a minor fire had broken out in the dumping ground and was brought under control within an hour. A contractor has been found to set up a Waste to Energy plant at the site.
Picture Credit: NASA, Mumbai oli 2016028, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons