Bhopal Municipal Corporation To Privatise Aadampur Landfill Operations Amid Waste Crisis

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to privatise operations at the Aadampur garbage landfill site, shifting responsibility for processing legacy waste, managing fresh waste and operating machinery to private agencies while retaining only a monitoring role.

The move comes amid mounting pressure over recurring landfill fires, growing waste accumulation and ongoing legal scrutiny. More than Rs 100 crore is being spent on legacy waste remediation, new machinery and waste processing infrastructure.

Bhopal generates around 1,200 metric tonnes of waste every day from its 85 wards. After door-to-door collection and segregation, the waste is transported to the Aadampur landfill, which has been operational since 2018-19.

However, delays in scientific disposal resulted in massive garbage mounds and frequent fire incidents during summer.

Legacy waste, fresh waste to be handled by private firms

BMC has engaged a Saurashtra-based company for remediation of legacy waste at Rs 52 crore. It is also procuring machinery worth Rs 29 crore to process fresh waste, which will be operated by a private agency.

In addition, seven trommel machines hired from an Indore-based company at a monthly rent of Rs 3 lakh will support waste processing.

A separate tender worth Rs 4 crore has also been floated, taking the total expenditure beyond Rs 100 crore.

Once the new machinery is commissioned, private companies will manage landfill operations, while the Corporation will oversee monitoring and compliance.

Waste-to-energy projects failed to take off

In October 2021, BMC signed agreements with NTPC and an RNG firm to process waste at Aadampur.

The projects proposed converting 200 tonnes of wet waste into Bio-CNG and 400 tonnes of dry waste into torrefied charcoal on nearly 15 acres of land under a build-operate model. However, the facilities failed to become operational, leading to continued waste accumulation.

NGT penalty, SC monitoring

Following repeated landfill fires, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed a Rs 1.8 crore penalty on BMC in July 2023.

The matter is now pending before the Supreme Court, where the Corporation has undertaken to complete legacy waste remediation within 330 days.

Green waste disposal project planned

The BMC is also planning a Rs 8 crore biomass briquette plant under the public-private partnership (PPP) model to process nearly five tonnes of green waste generated daily. Land has been identified near AIIMS for the proposed facility.

Official statement

"The Corporation is committed to clearing the Aadampur dumpsite and is making every possible effort to eliminate the accumulated garbage."

Sanskriti Jain

BMC commissioner