Plan to set up waste-to-energy plant in Nahan

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, February 7

The Sirmaur administration is exploring the possibility of setting up waste-to-energy plant in Nahan.

Sirmaur DC RK Pruthi said they were exploring the possibility of setting up a plant. A team of experts had visited the area and was exploring various options to set up the plant in the town where 5-tonne waste would be required on a daily basis.

It was difficult to find people to run such plants and no bidder came forward for the Kala Amb plant despite bids.

Setting up solid waste management plants has become a Herculean task for the government. As per a December 2017 decision, the government had decided to adopt a cluster approach as this would have ensured the viability of the projec. The approach, however, failed to materialise and various urban local bodies were directed to set up such plants on their own.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had constituted regional monitoring committees to ensure the implementation of the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Rules-2016.

Rajwant Sandhu, former Chief Secretary, Himachal Pradesh, who heads a regional monitoring committee for the north zone, had convened a review meeting in November to monitor the progress.

While serious deficiencies had been found in the annual implementation reports of various states, including Himachal, the NGT had put in place a tribunal-monitored mechanism to streamline the waste management. It also noted that deficiencies in implementing the rules had led to the outbreak of serious disease in various states, necessitating the need to ensure scientific disposal of the waste.

Pruthi said bio-degradable waste of Nahan was being sent to a compost plant while bailing machines had been installed for scientific disposal of the waste. More than 80 per cent door-to-door collection of waste was being done at Nahan. About 7 tonne solid waste was collected on a daily basis which comprised 4.25 tonne dry waste and 2.5 tonne wet waste. In Paonta Sahib, 8.56 tonne waste was generated per day while in Rajgarh it was about 0.6 tonne.