Under the project,plants to process waste and generate power will be set up in 50 districtsBased on the Public-Private Partnership model,the state government plans to generate electricity from waste in around 50 districts of the state. The government has appointed Jal Nigams Construction and Design Services as the nodal agency for the project. A consultant has already prepared a draft of the Expression of Interest (EOI). Proposals will be invited after senior officials approve the draft EOI,said Jal Nigam officials. Under the project,plants to process waste and generate power will be set up in the districts it may be for a particular urban area or for a cluster of villages located at the outskirts of a town. A firm will be selected in each district to execute tasks like collection of waste from streets and drains,segregation of solid waste and processing,landfill and generation of electricity. The project will be set up on Design,Build,Finance,Operate and Transfer basis. The state government will only provide free land to the private firms to set up the processing plants. The firms will have to collect and process waste on their own. Local bodies may provide them support. The state government will purchase the electricity produced, said Navneet Sehgal,Secretary of Urban Development and Chairman and Managing Director of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited. As private operators will collect waste for power generation,cities and towns will also get cleaned in the process, said Sehgal. A similar plant,meant to convert waste into electricity,was established on Hardoi Road in Lucknow at a cost of Rs 76-crore. It was commissioned on December 11,2003. Chennai-based Asia Bio-Energy Limited was assigned the task to run the plant. But within a year,it was shut down as the private firm left the project reportedly due to lack of quality waste. While the plant operator was demanding segregated biodegradable waste,the Lucknow Municipal Corporation was supplying waste having a large quantity of non-degradable waste,said an official. Setting up of solid waste management plants is underway in nine major cities under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. The main focus of the project is management of waste. But in the new project of the state government,emphasis will be on power generation, said a Jal Nigam official.
