Shimla, June 8: The Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) has failed to fulfil the dream of its residents to see the country’s oldest hill town as green and clean Shimla, as its Rs 42 crore waste-to-energy project has failed to meet its June deadline.
Residents complain that the city stinks at many places as the SMC was yet to find a solution to the city’s 96 garbage hot spots, where it faces problem to maintain its containers. One can see stray dogs and monkeys rummaging the overflowing waste bins placed on streets and garbage collection points. The hill slopes and storm water drains still present a dirty picture at many places.
It is for the first time that the SMC has started collecting and disposing of 70 to 80 tonnes of garbage that Shimla generates daily to the waste-to-energy Bharyal plant this year, said project coordinator, SMC, DP Singh.
The SMC tried its best to do away with problematic bins and imposing penalty on defaulters and they were nearing to achieve the target of making it green and clean Shimla , said outgoing Mayor, Sanjay Chauhan. The coming House would reap harvest of this sustainable model and the waste-to-energy project would consume the city’s rubbish without spending a penny and produce 1.7 mw of electricity per hour, he said.
The city’s garbage was being processed at a plant that had started producing refuse-derived fuel (RDF) this month. The private company, which is running the plant, has told the NGT that the project will start in the first week of July. The company is awaiting the arrival of German engineers to oversee the trial run. The NGT had directed both SMC and private operator to generate fuel. The solid waste is being segregated, shredded and dried and then it will be burnt to produce electricity.
Waste-to-energy programme
- City produces about 70- 80 tonnes of waste daily
- The SMC garbage collection is about 90 per cent
- 3,000 households yet to be covered
- Company missed December, March 31 and June 1 deadlines to the start the plant
- German experts will inspect the site and monitor the trial run in Mid-June
Source Tribune India
