The North Delhi Municipal Corporation launched India’s largest municipal waste-to-power plant at Narela-Bawana in New Delhi on March 10, 2017.
- The 24 megawatt (MW) Narela-Bawana waste-to-energy plant was inaugurated by the Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu at the Civic Centre.
- While inaugurating the plant, Naidu said that without a scientific solid waste management system, objectives of Swachh Bharat Mission cannot be achieved. One of the aim of Swachh Bharat Mission is 100 percent management of municipal solid waste by 2019 in the country.
Features of the Narela-Bawana Plant
The project has been developed on public private partnership model by Ramky Group, a Hyderabad-based waste management company, in collaboration with the North Corporation.
- It has been built at a cost of Rs 650 crore and over 100 acres of land.
- The plant will use 2,000 metric tonnes of solid waste every day to generate 24 MW of energy. The capacity would be expanded further to process about 4000 metric tonnes of waste.
- The power generated from the plant would be sold to distribution companies for a price fixed by electricity regulator. However, the company will share 3 percent of the profit with North Corporation.
- The plant is expected to provide relief from overflowing landfill sites in Delhi as it will dispose off the waste to generate power. Delhi has four landfill sites, of which 3 are overflowing namely Bhalswa (North Delhi), Ghazipur (East Delhi) and Okhla (South Delhi)
- The landfill site at Narela-Bawana is the only one that still has capacity left.
- Thus the North Delhi Municipal Corporation will become the first corporation in Delhi to generate revenue from the project.
Benefits of the Narela-Bawana Waste-to-Energy Plant
- The plant would not only dispose of waste on a daily basis but also produce compost and energy.
- It has composting facility, RDF facility, waste-to-energy plant and engineered landfill site at one place.
Other waste-to-energy plant in Delhi
Delhi now has three waste-to-energy plant. Besides the newly launched plant, it also has two other plant at Ghazipur and Okhla landfill sites.
- The Ghazipur plant uses about 2,000 tonnes of garbage and produces 12 megawatt of energy while the Okhla landfill waste-to-energy plant has a capacity to produce 12 megawatt capacity from 1,200 tonnes of garbage.
Delayed Project
The plant was supposed to have been commissioned in 2013, but was delayed because of disputes over the rate for selling power.
- The tendering for the integrated municipal solid waste to energy plant at Narela-Bawana was done in 2009.
It included door-to-door collection and composting of waste, separation of Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF- which can be used as a fuel and to generate electricity) at the landfill and establishment of waste to energy plant.
But the project got delayed due to a dispute between the North Corporation and Ramky Group over alleged violations of agreement. Work was resumed after National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Centre intervened intevened in December 2016.
