DW BUREAU / CHANDIGARH

Taking a step towards waste management in Haryana, waste-to-charcoal plants, also known as green coal plants, will be established with the Centre's assistance.

This project will be the first-of-its-kind green initiative and will be set up in Faridabad and Gurugram.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVNL), a subsidiary of NTPC Ltd, and the Municipal Corporations of Gurugram and Faridabad in the presence of Union Minister Manohar Lal, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and Minister of State for Urban Local Bodies Subhash Sudha. The Chief Minister said today is a very important day for Haryana as an MoU has been signed for setting up plants to produce green charcoal.

According to the pact, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd will establish waste-to-charcoal plants in Gurugram and Faridabad under the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign of the Central government.

He said green coal plants would be set up in Bandhwari in Gurugram and Motuka in Faridabad at a cost of around Rs 500 crore each. These plants will convert 1,500 tonnes of waste collected daily from Gurugram and Faridabad into charcoal.

The Municipal Corporations will provide 20 acres of land each for these plants. NTPC will soon take possession of the land and start setting up the plants, which are expected to be completed in about 30 months. These plants will be based entirely on indigenous technology.

Earlier, Commissioner and Secretary (Urban Local Bodies Department) Vikas Gupta said with the increasing urbanization, the generation of waste is also continuously rising, making waste disposal a major challenge in cities.

"To address this problem, we have initiated this step with NVVNL under the guidance of the Chief Minister. The setting up of these plants in Gurugram and Faridabad will strengthen waste management," he added. CEO of NVVNL, Smt. Renu Narang while providing detailed information about the waste-to-charcoal plants said that currently, NTPC is operating a plant in Varanasi that produces charcoal from 600 tonnes of waste daily. However, the two plants to be established in Haryana will be the largest in India, producing charcoal from 1500 tonnes of waste daily. After their success, this technology will be considered for implementation in other cities, she said.

This initiative aims to implement efficient waste management strategies, including better collection, recycling, and disposal methods. The partnership focuses on exchanging knowledge among stakeholders involved in solid waste management and empowering officials and professionals with expertise and tools to create a clean and healthy urban environment for local residents.

Chief Secretary T.V.S.N Prasad, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister V Umashankar, Managing Director, Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited Mohammed Shayin and other officers remained present on this occasion.
(editor@dailyworld.in)