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Ludhiana MC panel bats for establishment of ‘waste to energy’ plant in city
The committee had visited Okhla in Delhi, where a pvt firm is generating electricity from garbage and selling it to earn revenue
The 12-member municipal corporation (MC) committee which was on a two-day official visit to study solid waste management at Okhla (Delhi) and Bhiwadi (Rajasthan) returned to the city on Friday.
Mayor Balkar Sandhu, who was leading the committee, batted for installation of an “energy to waste” plant to deal with the 1,100 metric tonnes of garbage that is generated in the city everyday.
During the visit, the committee visited the plant of a private firm in Okhla, which has been generating electricity from around 1,800 metric tonnes of garbage and isn’t charging the MC.
In Okhla, the firm is using around 15 acres of MC land and 22 KW of electricity is produced from around 1,800 metric tonnes of garbage which is shifted to the plant site by the MC. Only 10% of the waste is left behind after the process and the company is earning revenue by selling off the power produced at the plant.
“We are also struggling to dispose off the garbage dumped at the main dump site, where heaps of waste can be seen accumulated. The MC will soon float tenders to hire a contractor and a waste to energy plant will probably be established in the city,” said Mayor.
The committee members included mayor Balkar Sandhu, senior deputy mayor Sham Sundar Malhotra, councillors Dr Jai Prakash, Gurdeep Neetu, Harbhajan Singh Dang, Om Prakash Ratra, Swarandeep Chahal and Baljinder Bunty; superintending engineer Rajinder Singh, secretary Jasdev Sekhon, health officer Vipal Malhotra and assistant engineer Harpal Aujla.
The committee also visited a unit of the same company in Bhiwadi (Rajasthan), where the company manufactures machinery like static compactors and mechanical sweeping machines.
Leader of opposition in MC house, SAD councillor Dang said, “We support the proposal to establish a waste to energy plant in the city. During the visit to Rajasthan, I also urged the mayor to select quality machines for mechanical sweeping in the city.”
An MC committee had also visited Chennai last month to study solid waste management model there.
