After its bid to locate a waste processing plant in Trimulgherry met with a road block, the Secunderabad Cantonment Board is back to square one and hunting for a location to locate the waste processing facility.
During a discussion on solid waste at the board meeting on Tuesday, Ward 7 member Bhagyasree voiced opposition for locating the facility at Gandhi Community Hall in Trimulgherry, citing opposition from locals of the area. Left with no choice, the board deferred the matter.
Secunderabad Cantonment produces around 120 tonnes of solid waste a day which arrive in Trimulgherry before being transported to GHMC’s dumping yard in Jawarharnagar. As the SCB uses the services and facilities of another municipal body, it pays for garbage dumping at GHMC’s facility. Often it also runs up a default on its payment thanks to the steep ₹ 35 lakh fee per month. The SCB’s efforts to find a permanent solution to the garbage problem in recent years have proved elusive.
“That project is pending as locals in both Trimuglherry and in Turkapally where the SCB has some land, are against setting up of waste processing facilities in their areas,” an official said.
The waste processing facility that the SCB envisioned will process waste into refuse-derived fuel that can be sold for a profit. The Ministry of Commerce agreed to sponsor the plant and set it up at a cost of ₹ 50 crore. The SCB does not have to invest for the processing facility. Machinery for the plant was imported and has arrived at Chennai, a ward member informed.
At Tuesday’s meeting, after the board failed to convince Ms. Bhagyasree about the viability of setting up the processing unit at Trimulgherry, it was resolved to hunt for land elsewhere in the cantonment and submit a feasibility report within two weeks. If the board fails to respond to the Indian Government, the project was likely to go to other states, the ward member added.
