1,000 to be issued RFID cards: Ragpickers to be back in Deonar from June

Drone patrolling of the dumping ground was also considered during a meeting held last month between Additional Commissioner of Police Manoj Lohia and officials of the solid waste management department. On April 23, the Mumbai Police issued a letter to Deputy Municipal Commissioner Vijay Balamwar, stating that a team could be set up to patrol the entire dumping ground with the use of drones following the terms and conditions prescribed by the state government.

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The solid waste management department officials said they were planning to set up a watchtower every 200 metres along the boundary of the Deonar dumping ground. “We are planning to set up 12 watchtowers for surveillance purposes… We are in the process of drafting the tenders for the projects,” said Balamwar. Each of these watchtowers will cost around Rs 8 lakh. The BMC will also set up high masts as well as overhead lights for better lighting of the area.

Around two months ago, the BMC had revoked the entry passes of nearly 3,000 ragpickers and had barred them from entering the Deonar dumping ground from March 31 onwards. The decision was taken after allegations of sabotage arose as a cause for the several pocket fires that broke out at the dumping ground.

Meanwhile, the monitoring committee appointed by the Bombay High Court has sought details about the utilisation of the 120-hectare dumping ground, which the solid waste management department is yet to furnish.

“We are in the process of planning the space required for the processing plant and will also figure out the amount of land available. The city’s garbage is still being taken to the Deonar dumping ground, which makes it difficult to analyse the utilisation of the land,” said an official from the department.