The Hindu : New Delhi News : MCD `waste to energy' plan runs into trouble

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 19, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

MCD `waste to energy' plan runs into trouble

By Bindu Shajan Perappadan

NEW DELHI, JULY 18. A proposal by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to use the Capital's waste to produce energy has run into trouble. The civic body seems to have forgotten the previous experiments with the waste to energy plan undertaken in Timarpur in the 1980s and, as experts put it, was peddling old wine in new bottle.

According to sources, an incinerator referred to as the Waste to Energy (WTE) plant came up at Timarpur in East Delhi in the 1980s. The Danish incinerator installed here at a cost of Rs. 44 crores was operational for exactly 21 days and was then shut down because the waste being generated was unfit for burning and had a low calorific value. And since then it has been laying idle and in fact, incurring maintenance cost to this day.

Since the WTE project failed to become an effective technology, the country should not go for it, claim experts. The Corporation, however, seems to have forgotten its earlier mistakes and is now ready to repeat it. "Delhi is not a good place for this project anyway", reason experts, pointing out that its waste was just not good enough. The Capital's waste composition is 41.81 per cent stones and ashes which makes the technology non-viable. And with a high percentage of sand and inert materials in the urban waste, it becomes difficult to separate them making the process uneconomical.

"It is surprising why the Timarpur failure has been forgotten. Sometime back the Delhi High Court had asked Comptroller and Auditor General to probe the Timarpur deal suspecting a scam. We aren't sure what stage the probe is in. And now we hear that the Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources (MNES) is busy facilitating toxic technology transfer in India in general and metropolitan cities in particular. While it is a well-known fact that there is not even one viable demonstration project anywhere in the country, initiatives are being taken for a commercial venture. Ignoring the recommendations of Supreme Court, the MNES is promoting pyrolysis/gasification and incineration processes to deal with waste," points out Gopal Krishan, an expert in the field.

"It is ironic that we haven't bothered to learn the lessons from the failure of Danish technology based Timarpur project. Also, other cities like Bhopal and Chennai also refuse to learn from these experiences despite objection by the State Pollution Control Boards," argue sources.

Also unsure in the MCD proposal are questions regarding cost and caloric value and health effects of burn technologies. "Indian waste is mixed and it contains plastics, paper, kitchen waste and debris. Burning such a mixed waste gives rise to what are called dioxins and furans. Associated with this problem is the issue of heavy metals. Burning waste emits heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury which lead to various diseases. Also burning waste leaves behind ash which is extremely toxic," claim health experts.

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