The proposed solid waste treatment facility at Bhuasuni is unlikely to materialise within the stipulated time.
The project, which was scheduled to be commissioned by this year-end, will take another two years to be completed. The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), a partner in the project, has attributed the delay to upgradation of technology that will be used for solid waste management.
An MoU for the project was signed between the State Government and Essel Bhubaneswar MSW Limited in May, 2014. When the pact was inked, ESSEL group had proposed a technology – ROCHEM – that would have cost Rs 58 crore. However, the firm has now suggested another technology – HITACHI – which according to BMC officials, is a state-of-the-art technology and new to the country in waste management sector.
The upgraded technology will push the project estimate by an additional Rs 200 crore. Sources in the BMC said implementation of the new technology will ensure waste treatment in a more scientific manner, minimise environmental pollution and be cost-effective in the long run.
Once a fresh detailed project report (DPR) is submitted, a technical team of the BMC will make an assessment following which technology upgradation of the project can be approved, sources said.
The new technology will use incineration, a process which includes combustion of waste for recovering energy. In the process, the waste material is converted into flue gas, heat and ash. Among the by-products, heat will be used for generation of electricity. A 11.5-mw power plant will be set up as part of the project.
The ash generated from incineration will be used for manufacturing fly-ash bricks and the exhaust gases will be first treated for eradication of pollutants before being released into atmosphere.
While incineration will consume 100 per cent of the waste to generate electricity, the process will leave a residual ash of around 20 per cent of the mass of total waste treated everyday.
The State Pollution Control Board has given a go-ahead to the waste treatment plant and ESSEL has applied to Gridco for a power purchase agreement.
BMC owns around 64 acre of land at Bhuasuni dump yard of which 10 acre has been allotted to ESSEL for setting up the plant.
Solid waste of both Bhubaneswar and Cuttack will be treated at this facility. The two cities generate about 550 tonnes of solid waste everyday with Bhubaneswar contributing 400 tonnes and Cuttack 150 tonnes.
The solid waste management plant has the capacity to process 600 tonne of solid waste per day at the initial stage.
The article source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Waste-Treatment-Plant-at-Bhuasuni-to-Miss-Deadline/2015/03/29/article2736139.ece