Bengaluru: The 30 lakh tonnes of bio-methane rich garbage that has accumulated at the Mandur landfill and looms over the nearby village is a ticking time-bomb, not just for Mandur but for the rest of Bengaluru. The mountain of accumulated waste is dangerous as it could easily catch fire or discharge extremely hazardous bio-methane gas, and even in its current state poses a threat to hundreds and thousands.
But in a sign that the city's fathers are looking at ways to solve the problem, a German company Zonta Infratech Limited has evinced interest in taking up bio-mining at Mandur to generate electricity and to clear the accumulated garbage. The company has however agreed to bio-mine with a rider that the land should be leased to them for three decades, said BBMP joint commissioner (Health) Sarfaraz Khan.
It is a win win situation for both Zonta and BBMP as the accumulated garbage will be cleared and the company will get a free hand in generating waste to energy to sell the power to grid. The compost too will be sold by the company. The company is investing a whopping Rs 200 crore. The BBMP and state government will provide all necessary clearance through single window system, Mr. Khan added.
The power will be sold at Rs 7.09, as fixed by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC). The company is already offering similar solutions at Seychelles, the Indian Ocean island nation which is facing problems in processing the waste, he explained and added that the residents at Mandur will be happy as the accumulated garbage will be cleared and the BBMP gets prime land of 130 acres.
The German company’s interest is a much needed succour for both Mandur and BBMP as repeated attempts by the civic body to rope in contractors to clear the accumulated garbage has not yielded any results. In order to clear the garbage that had accumulated for over eight years, the BBMP had floated tenders for bio-mining. Though the BBMP had floated tenders four times there were no takers at all, said sources in the BBMP.
The expert committee will vet the proposal and approve the plan. This will save BBMP from spending Rs 88.5 crore for bio-mining.
