Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has decided to set up 30 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) plants at garbage transfer stations located in the city using wet waste. It will put up the proposal to the government.
Garbage is first collected in transfer stations and then shifted to the dump yard at Jawaharnagar. There are 17 such stations in the city, which generates an estimated 2,510 tonnes of wet waste every day.
Officials said the Corporation is spending huge amounts to carry the garbage to Jawaharnagar. Treating the wet waste in a harmless manner will both save transportation costs and generate employment, they said.
According to highly placed sources, taking a cue from the Indore Municipal Corporation, the GHMC has decided to minimise the cost of transporting garbage and the resultant vehicular pollution, by setting up organic waste treatment plants at the garbage transfer stations.
Officials said organic waste picked from households through Swachh auto-tippers would be further segregated at the transfer stations and used to produce CNG. It is an eco-friendly strategy for energy production from biomass and the residue can be used as a soil conditioner, officials point out.
Superintendent Engineer (Projects), Mr Dattu Panth said that the CNG plants do not produce pollution and require minimal electricity for ancillary machinery, which is used for lifting organic waste into the equipment and removing sludge.
The machinery would be imported from China, Germany or Japan. Mr Panth said each 100-tonne capacity plant costs around `10 crore and produces 2,400 kg of CNG in a day.
“The Corporation is planning to replace all existing vehicles, including Swachh auto tippers, with CNG-run vehicles. The conversion from petrol/diesel to CNG requires at least ` two lakh, which would be borne by the Corporation”, Mr Panth said.
He said the proposal would be discussed with the Pollution Control Board prior to taking it up with the State Government. He also stated they would first run a pilot project to collect data. The corporation has been paying Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd about Rs 500 to dispose each tonne of garbage to the transfer station and another Rs 500 to transport trash from the transfer station to Jawaharnagar.
“The CNG project will not only save the money which is being paid to private agencies but also enhance the quality of life in the city”, Mr Panth said.
