Bhuasuni dumping yard. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 2: Illegal laterite stone quarries near the dumping yard of the municipal corporation at Bhuasuni on the city outskirts have become a major concern for the civic body.

The corporation plans to set up a solid waste treatment plant at the site.

The civic body has asked the district magistrate and other officials concerned to take stringent action against those excavating stones from the site.

“This will not only make the site unsuitable for our proposed solid waste treatment plant but also pollute the environment because they are throwing their wastes all over the place,” said municipal commissioner Sanjib Kumar Mishra.

The quarry mafia, which has been active in the nearby areas for quite sometime, have targeted the dumping yard now. Corporation officials said their health squad had tried to prevent the mafia from operating.

The goons retaliated by stealing batteries of some machines employed by the civic body at the site. “They are also issuing threats to our employees,” said a civic official.

The local residents apprehend that accidents might take place because of quarrying activities, which have created a number of craters at the site.

“During the rainy season, we stop our children from going near the site because they may fall into the many ditches there,” said Gaurang Jena, a resident of Daruthenga village near the quarry.

The civic body has already floated a tender to set up the waste treatment plant at the site. The tender is likely to be finalised this month.

The officials apprehend that extensive quarrying at the site may delay the process of finalising the tender since anyone who is awarded the job will have to spend a lot of money on ground levelling.

The proposal to set up a garbage treatment plant with an investment of nearly Rs 46 lakh in public private partnership mode was mooted two years ago.

The plant will treat around 700 metric tonnes of solid waste every day.

At present, the waste generated by the city is being dumped at various transit points before being transported to Bhuasuni. The city generates around 450 metric tonnes of waste each day.