“Companies that come to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to solve the garbage problem seem to be interested only on taking out a loan over the land allotted to them by us,” Mayor B.S. Sathyanarayana said on Wednesday. “Several companies have come, made presentations and sought land for their projects. Yet, a permanent solution to the city’s garbage problem continues to elude us.”
Mr. Sathyanarayana gave the example of Hanjeer Biotech to illustrate his statement. BBMP had signed a memorandum of understanding with the company after the garbage crisis peaked in the city a year ago, and allotted land for the project at Subbarayanapalya. “We have fulfilled all their requirements. When we went to Salem to inspect their plant there, they asked us to construct a compound, which we did. Yet, the company shows no sign of starting construction at the site. A final notice will be issued to them in this regard, he said.”
He added that he had directed Commissioner M. Lakshminarayan to cancel the contract with Hanjeer if there was further delay.
Similarly, the waste to energy plant at Mandur should have been commissioned by now. According to the Mayor, the company, Srinivas Gayathri Resource Recovery Ltd., was seeking more time.
The BBMP issued notice to the company, which then promised to commission the plant by December.
Steps forward
Yet, despite these problems, Mr. Sathyanarayana said he was confident that the burden on landfills would be greatly reduced next year. By December, the BBMP hoped to lay the foundation stone for at least four waste processing projects, including a 1,000-tonne waste to energy plant at Kannahalli and another 250-tonne plant at Karnataka Compost Development Corporation.
Earlier, Spurthi Industries Pvt. Ltd. demonstrated technology that helps dispose garbage in an environment-friendly manner, eliminating the need for landfills. The equipment, called Alchemy, with capacity of 400 kg, was showcased at Rajagopalanagar in Peenya Industrial Area ward.
According to Sunil Kumar from Spurthi, it requires just one hour to dissolve waste. There is no smoke or smell. “We use a special solution that dissolves the waste. One tonne of waste is reduced to just 100 gm. The dissolved material can be reused to process the next batch of waste.”
Dasarahalli MLA S. Muniraju, councillor Thimmananjaiah, Deputy Mayor Indira, Ruling Party Leader Ashwathnarayan Gowda and Janata Dal (S) Floor Leader S. Prakash were present.
