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Abstract
Kolkata is one of the four major metropolitan cities in India and the capital city of the state of West Bengal. With an area of 187.33 km2 and a population of about 10 million (including a floating population of about 6 million), the city generates about 3500 Metric Ton (MT) of solid waste per day. Currently, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) disposes its waste at Dhapa (21.47 ha), where the disposal rate exceeds 3000 MT/day, and at Garden Reach (3.52 ha), where the disposal rate is 100 MT/day. Considering the exhaustion of Dhapa land space, city planners are urgently searching for an alternate disposal ground. National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), under the sponsorship of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), has brought out literature developing the site selection criteria for municipal solid waste disposal ground to suit Indian conditions. The developed criteria encompass environmental conditions, accessibility, geological and hydrogeological conditions, and ecological and societal effects. This paper attempts to locate the most suitable site for disposal of KMC area solid waste using the multicriterion decision analysis as stipulated in CPCB 2003 guidelines and the overlay analysis of geographic information system (GIS).
Implications:
The paper is based on landfill site selection for dumping of solid waste generated within Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area. The methodology uses GIS/remote sensing, Site Sensitivity Index (an offshoot of pairwise comparison technique developed in CPCB 2003 guidelines, Government of India), and the Delphi technique. Dhapa landfill site, where solid waste of KMC area is currently being disposed, is exhausted; the authors of this article thus found it relevant to carry out a research on the selection of an alternative landfill site. The study undertaken was comprehensive, yet presented in a lucid way so that policymakers will find easy to comprehend.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to acknowledge the support and help received from Dr. Asit Baran Ray (Emiritus Professor, Presidency College), Dr. Gupinath Bhandari (Associate Professor, Jadavpur University), Mr. Ratnadeep Ray (Assistant Professor, Vidyasagar University), Mr. Saptarshi Mondal (Research Scholar, BIT Mesra), Mr. G.K. Sarkar, and Mr. Swapnajit Bhattacharyya.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Koushik Paul
Koushik Paul is currently working as an assistant professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at BIT Mesra, Ranchi, India; he is also a Ph.D. scholar at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India.
Amit Dutta
Amit Dutta is an associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, and the PhD guide of Koushik Paul.
A.P. Krishna
A. P. Krishna is Professor, Department of Remote Sensing at BIT Mesra, Ranchi, and currently the acting Registrar of the Institute. He is also the co-guide of Koushik Paul.