BBMP plans to set up 7 waste-to-energy plants, members oppose move

BENGALURU: The city civic corporation wants to set up seven waste-to-energy plants in Bengaluru even as its expert committee on solid waste management is staunchly opposing the move.

The State Cabinet has already cleared the proposal, following which the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is preparing the ground to float global tenders to use the city's waste to generate energy.

"About a dozen companies from Korea, Japan, Germany, the United States and Spain have approached us over the past six months," BBMP joint commissioner (solid waste management) Sarfaraz Khan said. There will be no financial burden on the civic body. "We will give them land and the waste. They will convert the waste into energy, which will be sold to the government at Rs 7.09 per unit."

Each of the proposed waste-to-ener gy units will have a capacity to handle 200-500 tonne. "These plants require 10-12 acres of land and 18-24 months to be commissioned. We're also considering smaller units of 50-100-tonne capacity, which can be established within a year," Khan said.

The units will be incorporated in the existing waste processing units in Kanahalli, Seegehalli, Chikkanagamangala, Subbarayanapalya, Ling adheeranahalli, Doddabidarakallu and Kudlu.

However, the push for waste-to-ener gy plants has raised eyebrows as four projects approved in the past -Satarem Enterprises, Nexus Novus, Essel MSW Group and Organic Waste India -did not materialise.

The new units will be commissioned as per the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) rules of 2016. "Our tender document is clear that these units will take only segregated waste. The units will have a mix of burn technology and biomethanation (biogas)."

This is where the expert committee is in disagreement.

"If it is biomethanation technology, then it's alright. But the expert committee is unanimously against burn technology. There's not enough calorific value in Indian waste to generate any surplus energy after burn ing," said Almitra H Patel, whose landmark 1996 Supreme Court PIL against unscientific dumping led to the drafting of the MSW rules. "There are huge pollution outcomes and illnesses around waste-to-energy plants. Many of them are being closed down in the US and Germany."



Apparently, the expert committee was not even kept in the loop. "We've not been referred to. The technical aspects are a concern because we've never accepted that technology," member NS Ramakanth said.

Waste expert V Ramprasad wondered why international firms would be interested in Bengaluru's waste as it is unsuitable for energy generation. The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, however, seems to be on board already. "When the BBMP applies for our consent, we're ready to clear it," its chair person Lakshman said.