Mumbai's ticking methane bomb: The Deonar dump yard

A report from IIT-Bombay has suggested that 12.7 million tonnes of highly flammable methane gas lies buried underneath all the layers of garbage and debris in the Deonar dump yard. This very gas was responsible for the fire outbreak that engulfed the entire city and the Eastern suburbs in particular for over a week. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has sought the help of IIT-B and NEERI to find a permanent solution to the recurring issue of dump yard fires in the city in addition to establishing a permanent fire station in the area. 

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has initiated work on the installation of bio-filter system in Karnataka Compost Development Corporation’s compost plant near Somasundarapalya Lake. The project which aims to reduce the foul smell emanating from the plant is expected to be completed by March 15 this year. The Karnatake High Court had directed the civic body to install bio-filters way back in September 2014, but the lack of co-ordination between the concerned agencies delayed its implementation. 

The Bihar government has withdrawn a key clause in the state Panchayati Raj Act which made it mandatory for contestants to have a functional toilet at home to contest local body polls. Many contestants, old and new, would have been left out of the contest if the state government had decided to go ahead with its ‘no toilet at home, no panchayat poll’ norm. The clause was inserted by amending the Bihar Panchayati Raj Act 2006 in August 2015 to encourage the construction of toilets across the state. 

The Municipal Corporation of Ludhiana is all set to launch mobile toilet vans in around 10 main markets of the city. As a pilot, a mobile toilet van is already functional at the city railway station. The vans, equipped with eco-friendly treatment systems, will enable citizens to relieve themselves in crowded locations that lack public toilets and also help keep the markets clean. 

The Union government has appointed former IAS Officer Parameswaran Iye as the Secretary of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation for a period of two years. With an experience of over twenty years in the field of water and sanitation, the administration is convenced that Iyer would be the perfect candidate to steer the Swachh Bharat Mission forward. Ratings and government data have shown that the programme has not been progressing as desired, and the government seems to have spared no effort to turn its course around.