Proposal for waste to energy incinerator plant in Patna

In Patna, municipal solid waste (MSW) is disposed of in an unscientific manner without considering environmental impacts. The municipal solid waste to energy incinerator plants proposed at Bairiya village near Patna, Bihar is based on a tried, tested and failed technology. In the 1990s, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi had built a similar plant based on Danish incinerator technology at the cost of US $ 3.5 million to process 300 tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) per day to generate 3 MW. It failed to operate after 7 days due to very low calorific value of the MSW.

Bihar government had announced a Rs 36-crore municipal waste to energy project under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission in 2007 for Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) to be completed by 2012. Some 80 acres of land was acquired in the Ramachak Bairiya village, about 35km from Patna and New Bypass. It was joint effort of the central and state government. Patna has a population of 18 lakh.

The state capital generates 750 metric tonnes of solid waste per day. It is projected that by 2038, Patna will generate 1,500 metric tonnes of MSW per day. The per capita MSW generation per day 0.5 kg per day in Patna.
It was reported that the state government had released Rs 18 crore for the project. Central government had released Rs 5 crore for the same.
One does not know the fate of the proposed landfill site on the outskirts of the state capital which estimated to cost Rs 145 crore. This too was proposed at the Ramchak Bairiya village. What knows for sure is that it s Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy which is distorting waste management in cities and states by providing subsidies to waste to energy incinerators despite repeated failures.