Green panel to inspect site of upcoming waste plant

Environmental concerns among residents over an upcoming Waste to Energy (WtE) plant in Chikkanagamangala near Electronics City have prompted the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to plan a spot inspection.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) signed a deal with three companies last year to set up the WtE plant, construction for which will begin in three months. Residents are firmly opposing the plant amid mounting concerns over its hazardous effects.

“The plant would be incineration-based,” Pranay Dubey, a member of the group Electronics City Rising, said. “It’ll emit toxic gases, fly ash and bottom ash. Such plants did not succeed in India and cause irrevocable damage to the environment. We need to learn from the mistakes other states have made and shouldn’t repeat them.”

He said WtEs spark widespread opposition among citizens. “For example, there have been continuous protests against the Okhla plant (in Delhi) and the NGT slapped environmental compensation of Rs 25 lakh on the plant,” he said, warning that the proposed plant would destroy Bengaluru’s ecology.

Residents already have to cope with the existing waste processing plant in the area that emits a foul odour and poisonous gas.

Their protests failed to draw the attention of the regulatory authorities.

Worried that the new plant would worsen the situation, residents wrote to the NGT that responded saying that it had processed their complaint and will inspect the place.

A BBMP official said the plant would sort out mixed waste collected especially from the black spots and from the roadside.

“The BBMP has no say in the location of the plant. The regulatory authority would take a call on that. We’re just beneficiaries and will abide by the decisions of the concerned authorities. We’ll see to it that the contractor follows the environmental standards while building it,” he added.