For years, Bengaluru’s garbage problem loomed like a dark cloud over the city, with residents losing patience as mounds of waste continued to poison land and water. Now, for the first time in a long while, there is a feeling that the long-stuck crisis might finally be moving toward a real solution.

In a major development, the Bangalore Solid Waste Management Company Limited (BSWML) has decided to set up an advanced Leachate Treatment Plant—something environmental groups have demanded for years. The company has awarded Mukka Proteins Limited a large project worth Rs 474.89 crore, with the responsibility of treating leachate at the rate of Rs 1.65 per litre. The proposal has cleared all government hurdles, winning the approval of the Cabinet and key finance and urban development officials.

The story behind this decision stretches back decades. In areas like Mittaganahalli and Kannur, truck after truck has been dumping the city’s solid waste with no proper processing. As the waste piled up year after year, a dangerous toxic liquid—leachate—began to leak out. Today, experts estimate that nearly 2,878 million litres of this untreated liquid lie accumulated in these zones.

During heavy showers, it spills over the edges of pits, seeping into fields and flowing into villages, contaminating lakes and damaging the health of children, elders and animals alike. Under the new agreement, Mukka Proteins is expected to build the treatment facility within nine months. Over a four-year period, the company must gradually clean and process all the stored leachate. The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and BSWML will jointly oversee the execution of the project and ensure environmental norms are followed.

Officials close to the project say the city simply doesn’t have enough functional land-based waste units anymore. As a result, leachate pits have been overflowing repeatedly, prompting villagers around Bhubanahalli and nearby areas to hold several protests demanding relief. Once operational, the treatment plant will clean the toxic liquid through biological and chemical filtration, ultrafiltration and other advanced processes.

The purified water can then be used to water plants, wash vehicles, and in some cases, be released into lakes without harming ecology.