Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) administration has issued instructions to make NTPC plant at Adampur landfill site operational by January 31, 2025. But this would not improve the city’s score in Swachh Survekshan-2024 (SS-2024) as the evaluation for the survey will be over by then.
By the time the NTPC plant (to dispose of dry waste) starts functioning i.e. January 2025, it will be too late, said officials of Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) officials. The BMC is yet to get the consent for the plant from the pollution control board.
Management of dry waste management is a major challenge and the functional NTPC plant would have helped to take care of the dry waste and helped in securing the city’s cleanliness goal in the survey. Garbage disposal carries the highest score in SS-24. In 2021, the NTPC had inked an agreement with BMC to set up a 400 TPD dry Municipal Solid Waste plant to make torrefied charcoal.
NTPC aims to use torrefied charcoal produced as a by-product in its thermal power plants. A fire in 2023 in a landfill site had damaged the under-construction plant. And then NGT had slapped a fine of Rs 1.8 lakh on the civic body. A Bio-CNG plant with a daily processing capacity of 400 TPD has been set up at Adampur.
The plant is expected to yield 80 MT of org.c manure per day out of the collected wet waste. Under the Swachh Survekshan, the total marks awarded are 9,500. Segregation of waste, collection, transportation carries 13% weightage, solid waste management carries 30% weightage in category Level Progress which has 5705 marks. Certification carries 26 % and Jan-Andolan carries 14%.
The city produces 850 tons of garbage daily, and all of it has to be processed every day. The Municipal Corporation’s concentrated initiatives, ranging from scientific disposal of waste and waste-to-wealth projects to recycling C&D waste, CNG-powered waste collection vehicles, emphasis on Reduce, Reuse Recycle (3Rs), are noteworthy. Waste is now efficiently collected and processed through C&D, bio-CNG and charcoal plants.
BMC yet to take MPPCB consent
MPPCB regional officer Brijesh Sharma talking to Free Press said that “BMC has not taken consent from MPPCB for the NTPC plant. Besides, if the NTPC plant is not functional, it will hit BMC prospects for SS-24. BMC administration has fixed the January 31, 2025 deadline, but by that time it will be too late for City of Lakes which is hoping for a better ranking this year in the cleanliness survey.”
