Owners of steel polishing units in the twin-city are up in arms against the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) for their refusal to lift buffing waste generated from their establishments.
There are hundreds of big and medium sized steel utensil manufacturing units in Bhayandar- which is considered as one of the biggest steel hubs across the country.
Around 1,500 buffing (polishing) units cater to the polishing needs of the steel utensil manufacturing and export houses in the region and their 10,000 plus workforce operates on a per piece-rate system-the remunerations of which are based on the number of units processed on a daily basis.
The buffing industry is also said to be one of the biggest contributors of hazardous waste. Till now the contractors deployed by the MBMC, lifted the industrial waste and ferried it to the dump yard.
However, citing restrictions in accordance to Solid Waste Management (SWM) rules and process related glitches due to the presence of hazardous waste, the civic administration has decided not to lift such type of waste. The steel unit owners are left with no other option but to appoint a Taloja-based agency for the common hazardous waste treatment, by paying Rs. 30,000 membership deposit and per kg disposal charges.
“The MBMC is already charging solid waste management fees from the units and it’s their responsibility of roping in the said agency. Why should the unit owners bear double cost for a single work? The steel industry is already reeling under a crisis, this move will further spell doom. If the MBMC does not roll back its decision an agitation will be launched.” said Shailesh Pandey who heads the Maharashtra Steel Udyog Association who also suspects the move to be an evil ploy by developers to displace the units.
“A joint meeting of steel unit owner representatives and the waste management agency to resolve the issue.” said a MBMC officer. Some unit owners suspect the step to be an evil ploy taken on behest of local developers to displace the units. Apart from 8-10 tonne of industrial and bio medical waste, the twin-city generates around 500 metric tonne of garbage every day.
