The ongoing demolition of the State Secretariat buildings is set to generate construction waste in gargantuan proportions, to process which exclusively, the existing facilities will need at least two years’ time.
Experts say that the debris, which could amount to about 2.2 lakh metric tonnes, will need a dumping ground of around seven acres area. Sources informed that, though the government wished to employ implosion technique for demolition by use of explosives, seismologists have warned that it could result in water seepage from Hussainsagar and render the whole site unusable for construction. Hence, earth movers and other machinery are being used to dismantle it, which could cost close to ₹ 15 crore.
The Telangana Secretariat was earlier operating from the built up office space of 3.81 lakh square feet in four blocks, while five blocks constituting around 5.31 lakh square feet had been allocated to Andhra Pradesh. Inclusive of the Heritage block which had long fallen into disuse, two religious places of worship inside the Secretariat complex, and the structure used for canteen, the total built up space in the premises would exceed 10 lakh square feet. Calculated with the estimated height of 11 feet per floor, total volume of the built up space would amount to 1.1 crore cubic feet, or 3.11 lakh cubic metres.
Of this, total volume of the brick masonry, RCC, flooring, and random rubble masonry and miscellaneous items comprising demolition waste would be 1.03 lakh cubic metres. Converted as per standard norms, the total weight of the debris would be in the vicinity of 2.1 lakh to 2.2 lakh tonnes, with scope for a little deviation, said a Civil Engineering expert in government requesting anonymity.
“Considering the fact that debris occupies 40% additional space, the dump of construction waste from Secretariat, when piled up to a height of five to six metres, could need over 30,000 square metres of land,” he said. The demolition, together with truck transportation for a lead of 30 kilometres from the site, could cost around ₹18 crore to ₹20 crore at the minimum, he said.
GHMC has set up a recycling plant for construction and demolition (C&D) waste in Jeedimetla to process the daily waste generated within the city. Another plant at Fathullaguda near Nagole is yet to be officially launched. With the capacity of up to 500 metric tonnes per day, the existing plant would need close to 450 working days to exclusively process the entire Secretariat rubble. Engineer in Chief, R&B, I. Ganapathi Reddy, when sought his version, replied that an abandoned quarry close to the city was being identified for dumping the debris. Enquiries about the time required to shift the debris and the location drew a blank from him. As of now, no effort is seen on the ground to shift the waste.
