Bengaluru: In a bid to dispose the filth in Bengaluru, the Karnataka state government signed a MoU on Monday with Netherlands’ government for a waste to energy technology.
With an investment of Rs 470 crore, the waste to energy project will be utilised to dispose 600 metric tonnes of garbage generated in the city.
At a meeting between Netherlands’ ambassador in India, Alphonsus Stoelinga, and chief minister Siddaramaiah, the waste to energy project was finalised.
Speaking to the media, Siddaramaiah said, “The MoU is for the waste management of Bengaluru. The project is going to yield 7 MW of power everyday. The power generated from the waste management will be purchased by the state government as per the rates fixed by KERC.”
Later, Bengaluru development minister K J George said the project will be taken up on a pilot basis, and if successful, will be taken up in other parts of the city and the state.
The project is part of Netherlands’ initiative after signing an MoU with the Government of India to bring waste to power technology to the country. The Dutch government has already provided the technology and funding for waste management process to other states in the country, the latest being in Goa with a 120 MT waste disposal unit.
Stoelinga said the Dutch government will be providing a technology which will dispose waste that is odourless and there will be no remanents of garbage after the conversion of waste to power.
As per Dutch calculations, 60% of the waste generated in Bengaluru is organic and can be converted to biomass. The biomass, once processed, will generate 7 MW of power.
Under the terms and conditions of the MoU, the Dutch will provide 70% of the funding as soft loan, along with the technology and the rest 30% will have to be funded by the company which will participate in a tender process to initate the project and set it up.
George said the state has already proposed two to three locations for the pilot project on the outskirts of the city. “This time, the disposal will be odourless and will have been completely processed. The unit will accept mixed garbage for the time being, and it will be segregated at the unit for conversion of the organice garbage into power,” he said.
The Bengaluru minister said the biggest hurdle for setting up the plant will be to get clearances from the MoEF and the KSPCB to set up the unit. “We intend to succeed in securing the approvals in the next six months, before the project starts,” he said.
