Mira-Bhayandar civic body's Skoch award sparks credit row, minister Sarnaik objects

The Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation's Solar Controlled Windrow Composting (SCWC) project has won the prestigious national-level Skoch award. A dispute has now begun in political and administrative circles over who deserves the credit. Supporters of Transport Minister and Mira-Bhayandar representative Pratap Sarnaik say he pursued the funds for the project, carried the concept forward and gave momentum to setting it up. According to the supporters, his contribution was not even directly mentioned when the award was received.

The SCWC project was set up by the corporation's solid waste management department. According to Skoch's official records, it is a municipal corporation project with a capacity to process about 20 to 25 tonnes of wet waste a day. The method, which processes wet waste with solar energy to make compost, is claimed to reduce the burden of waste on landfills.

At a ceremony at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi, Commissioner Radhabinod Sharma, Deputy Mayor Dhruvkishor Patil and Deputy Commissioner Dr Sachin Bangar received the award on behalf of the corporation. The national recognition for the city's waste management is being seen as an important milestone for the administration. But as soon as the award came, the question of who deserves the credit was raised.

Sarnaik's supporters say Sarnaik had pursued a large fund for waste and compost management through the then Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The fund gave momentum to several waste processing projects in the city. The supporters' stand is that when the corporation is receiving a national award, the political effort behind the funds should also have been mentioned. They ask where the contribution of those who brought the funds and pursued them politically is, saying they accept that the corporation implements projects. The talk in Mira-Bhayandar politics has become one of "credit-taking" rather than joy over the national award.

Meanwhile, the issue of the proposed solarised mechanical composting project at Penkarpada in Mira Road, reservation number 343, has also resurfaced. The sanctioned cost of the project, which has a capacity of 20 tonnes of wet waste a day, is reportedly about Rs 9.44 crore. It is claimed that the corporation cancelled the work order after work up to the substructure had been done.

Sarnaik's supporters claim more than Rs 2 crore has already been spent on this project. They argue that had it been completed, wet waste would have been disposed of locally and the burden of waste from the Uttan area would have eased somewhat. The question being raised is why the Penkarpada project was stopped when a similar project is receiving a national award. The supporters allege that political differences and local opposition prevented the project from being completed. The corporation administration's official position on these allegations has not yet emerged.

Minister Pratap Sarnaik has expressed displeasure over the administration's stand. He says funds were pursued for waste management and several projects came up, but it is regrettable that after the award the concept behind those projects and the efforts made for the funds were not mentioned.

Sarnaik is reported to have said, "It is regrettable that we bring the funds, set up the projects, and after the award there is not even a mention of the vision and contribution behind that concept." Sarnaik also says that had the Penkarpada project been completed, the city's waste management would have received a bigger boost.

Residents of Mira-Bhayandar are now watching what explanation the corporation administration gives on these allegations, and how it describes the credit for funds, concept and implementation behind the success of the SCWC project.