BMC to miss Swachhta point for delay in torrefied charcoal plant

 

 

 

 

 

 

Though the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) signed an MoU with the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to set first of the kind of plant in Bhopal to make coal from garbage generated from the city, it could not be started even after two and half year. The move was taken out to give BMC a valuable Swachhta point in the upcoming survey. BMC had signed the MoU with NTPC and Bhopal RNG Pvt Ltd on October 12, 2021, in presence of former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Experts said that the delay in set-up of plant would be affecting the ranking of Bhopal in upcoming Swachhta Sarvekshan. It would be taking around one more year to set up the plant and use the waste-to-technology. After Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Bhopal would be the second city to make torrefied charcoal with the dried garbage under its waste management and execution plan. This torrefied charcoal is being used to produce electricity.

 

At present the BMC is spending around Rs 4,86 crore every year for disposal of the dried garbage. The municipal corporation is already involved to set up a separate plant to make bio CNG with the wet garbage. This plant will also be ready to work within a year. Subodh Jain, Additional Commissioner of BMC, said, “Our both ambitious plants would start to work in a year and this would be saving around Rs 6 crore every year. Bus being run on bio gas will get the CNG at cheaper price. Process of setting up both plants are underway. However, the plant to make torrefied charcoal with dry waste would take time.” Every day Bhopal produces more than 400 tones of dry waste. BMC officials said that waste-to-CNG outlet is located in Shahpura and other CNG gas plant construction site and under construction ABC centre for waste management is being set up in Baba Nagar and Thuakheda in Kolar. The torrefied charcoal plant is being set up in Adampur Cantonment on 15 acres of land at an estimated cost of Rs 80 crore and this amount will be borne by the NTPC.

 

He further said that waste management is a problem in rapidly growing cities where process of torrefaction, a thermal process to convert biomass into coal like material will be very helpful. The MoU was signed with NTPC for setting up of 200 ton per day wet waste to bi-CNG plant and 400 tones per day dry waste torrefied charcoal plant. For execution of around 800 tonnes of garbage collected from different parts of Bhopal, BMC is spending Rs 333 per metric tone. With the installation of the plant, Bhopal RNG Pvt Limited will give an amount of Rs 83 lakh to BMC as royalty every year for 20 years. Besides, bio-CNG will be provided at the rate of Rs 5 less than the market price. He said that the bio-CNG generated from plant will be used in the city buses. An estimated expenditure of Rs 40 crore on setting up the plant will be fully borne by the agency itself.