June 1 deadline for firm to start waste-to-energy plant

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 23

The Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) has set June 1 as a fresh deadline for a company to operate the much-awaited Rs 42-crore waste-to-energy project at Bhariyal landfill site.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had directed both SMC and private operator to generate the refuse-derived fuel (RDF) from combustible components of municipal solid waste being supplied to the plant by the SMC and speed up the completion of the plant.

According to sources, the company has yet to produce the RDF from combustible components of municipal solid waste (MSW) as it is facing a problem in drying wet waste. “The solid waste is shredded, dried and baled and then burned to produce electricity, making good use of waste that otherwise might have ended up in landfill,” revealed sources.

The National Green Tribunal had directed the Shimla Municipal Corporation and the company to start generating refuse-derived fuel for the plant. The expert would inspect the site and monitor the generation of the RDF from the Bharyal plant soon, the sources said.

The SMC had started supplying 70 tonnes of waste to Elephant Energy Private Limited, which is setting up the plant at Bharyal. The company had started the trial run of the plant and we had asked the company to operationalise the plant by June 1 or so, said Shimla Mayor Sanjay Chauhan.

Chauhan said the NGT was monitoring the progress being made in operationalising the plant. “There were some hiccups, but the trial run is in the final stages. We are supplying 70 tonnes of waste free of cost daily for the plant as per the MoU signed with the company,” he said.

On the other hand, the HP State Electricity Regulatory Commission has already given its nod to Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited to buy 2.5 mw of electricity from Elephant Energy Ltd for 20 years.

It was a first-of-its-kind project in Himachal. The company was investing Rs 42 crore on this green energy project while the SMC was spending not even a penny except supplying about 70 tonnes of waste for the plant free of cost, the Mayor said.

The SMC has stopped transporting the city solid waste to the JP-run municipal waste treatment plant in Chandigarh recently, said Municipal Commissioner GC Negi. “The company’s foreign experts inspected the Bharyal plant and suggested some corrective measures to make the trial run possible,” Negi said.

In June, the SMC had given four-month’s time to Elephant Energy to complete the project by December 31. But the company missed that deadline and then another on March 31.

Generate refuse-derived fuel: NGT to SMC

• The National Green Tribunal had directed both SMC and private operator to generate the refuse-derived fuel (RDF) from combustible components of solid waste.
• According to sources, the company has yet to produce the RDF from combustible components of waste as it is facing a problem in drying wet waste. 
• The expert would inspect the site and monitor the generation of the RDF from the Bharyal plant soon. 
• The NGT was monitoring the progress being made in operationalising the plant.
• "There were some hiccups, but the trial run is in the final stages. We are supplying 70 tonnes of waste free of cost daily for the plant as per the MoU signed with the company," said Shimla Mayor Sanjay Chauhan.