Finally, Chandigarh MC decides on technology to upgrade waste processing plant

After more than a year of debates, presentations and study tours, the MC General House on Thursday finally decided on the technology for upgrading the solid waste processing plant in Sector 25 (Dadumajra).

The new plant will use the “waste to energy” technology instead of “waste to refused derived fuel”.

The next step will be preparation of a detailed project report (DPR) and the tender document. MC commissioner KK Yadav said, “We will be writing to Punjab Engineering College, IIT Ropar and Thapar University, inviting their bids for preparation of DPR and the tender document (request for proposal). We will go for the lowest bidder.”

The DPR will include the cost estimates, the exact technology model, project time and funding model.

“We are expecting the DPR to be ready by this month-end. We plan to the present the DPR before the House in its August meeting. The tender document is likely to be floated in September and we expect the work to be allotted in October,” Yadav said.

For using the power generated from the new plant, MC will tie up with the power department. The final modalities of the share of electricity and its monetisation will be decided at a later stage.

Notably, the meeting to decide on the technology came after UT adviser Dharam Pal recently warned MC of the administration stepping in, if MC delayed the matter further.

The city produces 550-600 metric tonnes of waste daily. Of this, around 200 MT is dry waste, 150 MT is wet (kitchen) waste, mixed waste is 75MT and horticulture waste runs into 100 to 125 MT. However, the plant’s current waste processing capacity is only 70-80 MT.

In June last year, the civic body had taken over the plant from the Jaypee Group, due to its inability to process the waste completely.

But since then, MC has neither improved the plant’s working nor upgraded the technology and most of the daily waste is still being dumped at the Dadumajra landfill.

West waste plant’s capacity to be expanded

Yadav said MC will also expand the capacity of the wet waste processing plant up to 300 MT per day. “Even though the company running the plant has been claiming that 300 MT wet waste could be processed every day, in practice it isn’t more than 70 MT. The DPR will also include this aspect of waste processing,” he added.

The corporation also decided to set up another plant for the horticulture waste, for which 30 vehicles will be rented to collect and dispose of the waste.

Meeting theatrics

During the meeting, amid high drama, Congress councillor and leader of opposition Devinder Singh Babla tore a water bill and a bank cheque. Babla had earlier said that he had spent some amount during a study tour and in response, BJP councillor and former mayor Asha Jaswal handed him a cheque for ₹8,000.

Stating that he asked reimbursement from MC and not from her, Babla ripped up the cheque. Protesting against hefty water bills, he also rote a water bill.

Following repeated interruptions by Congress councillors, mayor Ravi Kant Sharma asked them to leave the House on their own.

THE ROAD AHEAD

August-end: Preparation of detailed project report and request for proposal

September: Floating of tenders

October: Allotment of work