Years past its deadline, the Capital’s third waste-to-energy plant could be commissioned next month with the National Green Tribunal pressurising the North Delhi Municipal Corporation to start the facility.
Built at the Narela-Bawana landfill site, the plant will use 1,300 tonnes of garbage a day to produce 24 megawatts (MW) of electricity.
After the Timarpur-Okhla plant of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation and the Ghazipur plant of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation, this will be the third such facility to tackle the Capital’s mounting solid waste problem.
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The plant, which has been outsourced to the Ramky Group, was supposed to start functioning by November 2013, but disputes between the company and the civic body over sharing of revenue led to the delay. The project got rolling again earlier this year when the NGT ordered authorities to speed up the work.
On Thursday, leaders and officials of the North Corporation inspected the facility.
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Mayor Dr. Sanjeev Nayyar said that once operational, the plant would not only use the large amount of garbage already dumped at the site, but would keep mounds from forming.
“This plant will help reduce pressure at the Narela-Bawana and the Bhalswa landfills,” said Dr. Nayyar.
An associate vice-president of the Ramky Group, Mr. D.B.S.S.R. Sastry said the plant was yet to receive consent to operate from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, but was hoping to start work in June.
“We applied for the consent to operate on May 6. If all goes according to plan, we should start by the first week of June,” said Mr. Sastry.
The plant will work by first segregating garbage into different reusable components, including compost and refused-derived fuel (RDF).
The RDF is fed to boilers that produce steam, which is used to move a turbine that generates electricity.
Due to the delays, about 4.5 lakh tonnes of RDF has accumulated at the site. It would take three years for the plant to use it completely, said Mr. Sastry.
Apart from the Mayor, Standing Committee chairperson Mohan Prasad Bhardwaj, Leader of the House Vijay Prakash Pandey, incoming Standing Committee chairperson Pravesh Wahi and Commissioner Pravin Gupta inspected the plant.
At the site, they were caught off-guard by the Congress councillor from Bawana, Devender Kumar, and a group of locals who protested against the plant.
“We were assured that the plant would be in the basement level, and that there would be no garbage dump. But, today, the mountain of trash has grown and the stench is so bad that it is impossible for villagers to step out for a walk,” said Mr. Kumar.
After hearing the locals, the Mayor ordered officials to improve cleanliness and sanitation in the area, as well as offer jobs to the residents.
The plant, which was to start functioning by 2013, will reduce pressure on the Narela-Bawana and Bhalswa landfills