Tender called to clean up Vizag debris
There would be more than one lakh tonnes of green debris
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-10-23 01:54 GMT
Visakhapatnam: Faced with the Herculean task of clearing the “green debris” spread across the city due to the uprooting of more than one lakh trees during Cyclone Hudhud, the state government has finally decided to clear the mess by calling tenders.
According to the civic authorities’ estimates, there would be more than one lakh tonnes of green debris, including timber and other waste. The government is now fixing the upset price per tonne to be auctioned.
Right now, branches and the trunks are being cut at certain points across eight zones under GVMC limits. The green debris is now kept at around 66 points. As the 100 acre yard at Kapuluppada, where the GVMC had been dumping garbage and debris since 1996, is almost full, it has become tough for the civic body to clear the fresh green debris. On an average, daily 800 metric tonnes of garbage is being dumped in Kapuluppada.
“We are estimating at least 10,000 to 20,000 tonnes of debris in each zone of the GVMC. The auction will be held on October 27. It’s the responsibility of those who win the bid to collect and clear the debris by Noember 12 at their own expenses,” said GVMC chief engineer, B. Jayarami Reddy.
The state government has also relaxed forest rights norms exempting transit permit for the auctioned debris, which is otherwise required from the transport department.
“It’s the best way to clear the debris. Otherwise, it will not be an easy task for the civic body with its limited infrastructure and manpower,” said another GVMC official.