Plant to generate power from waste Okayed

BANGALORE: Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Council on Wednesday approved the setting up a plant to generate power from waste, despite the Opposition parties’ disapproval. The project will be implemented on BOT (build-operate-transfer) basis by Ramky Energy and Environment Limited at Mavallipura. As per the project, Ramky will use 1,000 tonnes of garbage as raw material to generate 10 MW of power for the next 20 years. The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and Airport sAuthority of India have approved the project.Opposition Leader M Udayshankar said that similar projects proposed at Mandur and Mavallipura, were yet to be commissioned.“Palike has failed in making Bangalore a  garbage-free city. Tonnes of garbage are being sent to villages and people there are suffering. Even after two years of garbage tender’s expiry, BBMP has failed to float new tenders.”Hanumanthanagar councillor K Chandrashekhar and Jayamahal councillor N K Gunashekhar alleged that the contractor (Ramky) had not adhered to the stipulated conditions of the previous contracts. Gunashekhar alleged, “Why should BBMP approve the DPR (detailed project report) prepared by Ramky? Such projects require no objection certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission. Are these certificates issued to the contractor?” he asked.Not just councillors from Opposition, even ruling party leader B R Nanjundappa charged that the contractor had failed to follow the agreement. “There is a need to verify the status of the projects in Mandur and Mavallipura,” he urgedB V Satish, Chief Engineer (Lakes and Environment), said that a global tender for the project had been floated in 2004 and Ramky had qualified in the tender. According to the agreement, the BBMP has to provide 100 acres of land to scientifically dispose of 600 tonnes of garbage at Mavallipura. However, Palike could provide only 46 acres so far. With scarcity of land, it can take only 300 tonnes of garbage.  But it has been forced to send over 750 tonnes of garbage to Mavallipura and if the same condition continue for the next five years, Mavallipura will be closed. Satish said the proposed project will employ latest technology to generate power from garbage.