The foul smell enveloping a large swathe of residential localities in the city — Vidyaranyapuram, J.P. Nagar and other nearby layouts — from untreated and decaying solid waste dumped at the Sewage Farm here has disturbed the calm of residents for many years now, but it may be a thing of the past soon.
With the State government giving the green signal to the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) to establish two plants for converting waste into compost, tonnes of waste which otherwise go untreated will be turned into compost, giving some much-needed revenue to the cash-strapped civic body.
As of now, Mysuru generates 450-500 tonnes of solid waste, and only 200 tonnes are converted into manure at the plant established on PPP model on the Sewage Farm premises. The remaining waste, untreated, is dumped on the farm premises and it eventually decays and emits an unbearable stench.
The issue had figured in the recently-concluded Assembly elections, with some residents demanding a promise from political parties and candidates to relocate the Sewage Farm.
After years of wait and struggle, the issue has received some much-needed attention, with the government clearing the MCC’s proposal of establishing two waste recycling plants, one with a capacity of 150 tonnes and the other, 100 tonnes. The plants are proposed at Kesare and Rayankere. “We have received environmental clearance from the competent agencies for the two plants. Our proposal has come to a stage where the next step will be to float tenders for the plants, estimated to cost ₹49 crore. The cost also includes modernisation of the existing 200-tonne-capacity waste treatment plant,” said MCC health officer D.G. Nagaraj.
Dr. Nagaraj told The Hindu there was no need to relocate the Sewage Farm as garbage would not be unloaded at the site once the new plants are established. “We hope to establish the plants in a couple of years,” he said, adding that the government and the MCC would share the expenditure on it.
The promoters of the existing composting plant were giving to the MCC a royalty of ₹6 lakh a year and 5% revenue on the compost produced from waste. “The idea is not to make money from waste but to effectively handle it. The MCC invested nothing on establishing the first plant,” Dr. Nagaraj said.
