Zonal waste disposal plants to cost Rs 300 cr

 The grand plans of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike to set up garbage disposal plants may cost the civic agency a whopping Rs 300 crore.

As an alternative to landfills that are facing opposition from the local residents, the Palike is exploring the possibility of decentralising garbage collection at the zonal level. “We are looking at identifying sites at the zonal level to dispose of wet waste. The plan is to set up garbage disposal plants at these sites,” an official said.

The sites at the zonal level will have three to four plants, with each plant disposing of 200 tonnes of waste. On Sunday, officials from the Palike and the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board went on an inspection tour to identify locations for the garbage disposal plants. “Our rough estimates, which are likely to go up, show that each of these garbage disposal plants (for 200 tonnes) will cost Rs 15 to Rs 20 crore,” said the official.

Meanwhile, orders have already been issued by the Palike top brass to set up a mega biogas plant at Chintamani to process the City refuse. As per the orders, BBMP will try to take as many as 1,000 tonnes of garbage each day to the site, 80 km from the City.

Even as the burden on the Mandur landfill continues to increase, senior BBMP officials state that the Palike’s plan to set up a 1,000-tonne wet waste disposal plant at Chintamani may not be feasible. 

“The problem with Chintamani is that it is too far from the City. The distance is close to 80 km and the transportation costs will increase the financial  burden of disposing the waste,” said a BBMP official.

 Officials also fear that the problems which arose at Mandur may repeat in Chintamani too. “What is the guarantee that the villagers in that area will allow us to dump the waste in their backyard” questioned the official.