Three years on, work on Mulund waste processing plant yet to begin
Even three years after getting the contract for the 9-megawatt biomethanation plant to process the waste dumped at the Mulund dumping ground, the work on the project is yet to begin.
Even three years after getting the contract for the 9-megawatt biomethanation plant to process the waste dumped at the Mulund dumping ground, the work on the project is yet to begin.
The dumping ground receives 4,000 metric tonnes of waste everyday. The biomethanation plant would process the organic waste to produce methane gas, which would then be converted into electricity.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had allegedly agreed to purchase the power generated at the plant. However, owing to the delay in the execution of the project, the BMC has refused to hand over the power purchase agreement (PPA) to the contractor.
“The absence of agreement is a lame excuse. There would be many buyers for the power, once the plant gets functional. The capital for civil work at the site would be provided by the municipal corporation,” said Mohan Adtani, additional municipal commissioner.
According to the contractor, the absence of the agreement has affected the bankability of the project. The financial institutions have put the PPA as one of the conditions for lending funds for the project. “The land lease and power purchase agreements have not been signed by the BMC.
These documents are required to obtain finance for any project. We have sent repeated reminders to the BMC. We are hopeful that the matter would be looked into at the earliest,” said Mohan Kadam, project head for Mulund at Tatva Global Renewable Energy Company Private Limited, a subsidiary firm of United Phosporous Limited, which is the contract holder.