P’kula MC awards solid waste mgmt project to French firm

Sanjay Bumbroo

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, December 6

Integrated solid waste management project in Jhuriwala village across Ghaggar river is likely to see the light of the day as the Municipal Corporation (MC) has awarded the contract for the project to consortium M/s Ikos Environment SAS (lead member) and M/s Mailhem Ikos Management Pvt Ltd, France-based company.

The work order has been given on conditional letter of allotment (LOA) for setting up the cluster integrated solid waste management project. The total cost of the project is Rs 65 crore.

A delegation headed by MC Administrator Rajesh Jogpal and MLA Gian Chand Gupta left for Nashik to see the functioning and get acquainted with the waster processing facility being run by the company. Other members of the delegation include Sunil Kumar, technical advisor, Devender Gupta, senior consultant, and Satish Goel, executive engineer. SS Gill, Dharam Singh and Balwan Singh, office-bearers of the RWAs of Sectors 25, 26 and 27, respectively, are also part of the delegation.

More than 150 tonnes of garbage is generated in Panchkula every day. The present capacity of the treatment plant of disposing of 180 tonnes of garbage daily will be increased to 300 tonnes. About 50 tonnes of garbage will be brought from the Narayangarh area. The MC will earn revenue from the compost made from the green waste.

Jogpal said the plant to be set up in Jhuriwala would be one of the modern solid waste management projects in the country. As the plant had negative pressure inside the internal air would not come out nor the external air enter the plant thus restricting spread of foul smell in the area, he added.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court had already given a green signal to setting up of the plant, besides the project had already been cleared by various government departments and defence.

Advocate Hemant Sareen, who filed a case against setting up of the project said though the court had given a go ahead, the select agency would have to seek clearances again. Setting up of the project on clearances sought many years ago would be contempt of the court, he added. If fresh clearances were not taken then they would file a contempt petition in the High Court, he said.