Bhubaneswar: In order to solve the garbage problem in Odisha capital, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to set up 4 biomethane gas plants.
The BMC had took the decision on setting up the plants at its meeting on January 6 and submitted the proposal to the state government. The Empowerment Committee of Infrastructure headed by the Chief Secretary has approved the proposal, sources said.
As per the proposal, the sewerage treatment plants (STPs) will process the wet waste to produce the biomethane gas. The BMC has identified the places on the outskirts of the city to set up the gas producing plants on the premises of the STPs.
The BMC has decided to set up the STPs at Rokat, Meherpalli, Kochilaput and Basuaghai and allotted 2-2.5 acre for each gas plant. The biogas, generated from these plants, will be used in BMC vehicles to curb its fuel expenses.
The sources said around 700 tonne of waste is produced in the city everyday. Of those, around 200 tonne of wet wastes will be processed at these plants to generate 4 tonne of gas a day.
The BMC has invited tender to select a partner firm to execute the biogas project in PPP mode. The total cost of the project has been estimated to be around Rs 100 crore with each plant to cost Rs 25.30 crore. While the firm will bear the total cost, the BMC will only provide the land for setting up the plants, the sources added.
With the people not segregating the dry and wet garbage during its collection from their doorsteps, BMC commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange has appealed to the people in this regard. He has told them to keep the dry and wet garbage in separate containers so that it would be convenient for sanitary workers to collect.