Like in Gurugram, Faridabad to get waste-to-charcoal plant at Mothuka

Gurugram, June 30

A day after presenting waste-to-charcoal plant as the ultimate solution for the sanitation crisis in Gurugram, Union Power Minister and former Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar announced that Faridabad shall follow suit.

The Union Minister issued instructions that the municipal corporations, in collaboration with NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVNL), should set up a green coal plant at the Bandhwari landfill or alternative sites around Gurugram, Manesar and Faridabad. He said this plant should be capable of processing around 1,200 tonnes of solid waste daily.

‘Last nail in Aravallis’ coffin’

• Environmentalists claim that the waste-to-energy plants, if established, would be the last nail in the Aravallis’ coffin.
• “It’s bad news for the Aravallis. There is every possible violation in each waste processing plant in the country. The case of the Okhla waste-to-energy plant is still pending in the Supreme Court,” said an environmentalist, Vaishali Rana Chandra.
• She said residents living around such plants across the country have complained about deteriorated water and soil in the vicinity, and increased incidence of cancer in many areas.

The Faridabad MC should start the process with the NVVNL to set up a plant with a capacity of 1,000 tonnes per day on the available land at Mothuka village, he added.

According to the Union Power and Housing & Urban Affairs Minister, after green coal plants are set up in Gurugram-Manesar, Faridabad will get the same as the neighbouring NCR district has been facing similar waste management and sanitation crises.

An MoU for this plant will be signed between the NVVNL and the Haryana Government. After plants are set up in Gurugram-Manesar and Faridabad, the initiative will be expanded to other cities in Haryana. NVVNL officers will soon visit potential sites to establish green coal plants.

“This plan is for entire Haryana and sites in this regard will be identified soon. We will be starting with Gurugram and Faridabad, where residents are suffering due to the mounds of garbage at the Bandhwari landfill. The MCs have been asked to review feasible sites for setting up plants,” said Gurugram MC Commissioner Dr Narhari Singh Banger.

However, the declaration has left local environmentalists infuriated. They claim that the plants if established would be the ultimate nail in Aravallis’ coffin.

Local environmentalist Vaishali Rana Chandra said, “It’s bad news for the Aravallis. There is every possible violation in each waste plant in the country. The case of the Okhla waste-to-energy plant is still pending in the Supreme Court.”

Chandra said residents living around these conversion plants across the country have complained about deteriorated water and soil in the vicinity, and increased incidence of cancer in many areas.

“This waste-to-energy plant will be in violation of the Aravallis 1992 notification and PLPA Section 4 & 5 as well. This is a Forest area and such a plant must never come up in a forest area,” the local environmentalist said.

It may be noted that prior to this, a waste-to-energy plant was proposed to be set up in Gurugram. Waste management concessionaire Ecogreen was allotted land for same in 2018, but the project never took off.

The civic authorities cite conversion of waste into energy as a potential solution for waste management crises in Gurugram and Faridabad. According to the power corporation, green coal, also known as bio-coal, is a sustainable alternative to traditional waste, as it can be blended with regular coal for electricity generation in thermal power plants.

The NVVNL recently established a plant in Varanasi to produce green coal from solid waste. Once fully operational, this plant will consume 600 tonnes of waste and produce 200 tonnes of green coal, leaving very little residue. The firm is also working in various stages to set up green coal plants in Haldwani, Vadodara, Noida, Gorakhpur, and Bhopal.