The foul smell enveloping a large swathe of residential localities in
the city — Vidyaranyapuram, J.P. Nagar and other nearby layouts — from
untreated and decaying solid waste dumped at the Sewage Farm here has
disturbed the calm of residents for many years now, but it may be a
thing of the past soon.
With the State government giving the green
signal to the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) to establish two plants for
converting waste into compost, tonnes of waste which otherwise go
untreated will be turned into compost, giving some much-needed revenue
to the cash-strapped civic body.
As of now, Mysuru generates
450-500 tonnes of solid waste, and only 200 tonnes are converted into
manure at the plant established on PPP model on the Sewage Farm
premises. The remaining waste, untreated, is dumped on the farm premises
and it eventually decays and emits an unbearable stench.
The
issue had figured in the recently-concluded Assembly elections, with
some residents demanding a promise from political parties and candidates
to relocate the Sewage Farm.
After years of wait and struggle,
the issue has received some much-needed attention, with the government
clearing the MCC’s proposal of establishing two waste recycling plants,
one with a capacity of 150 tonnes and the other, 100 tonnes. The plants
are proposed at Kesare and Rayankere. “We have received environmental
clearance from the competent agencies for the two plants. Our proposal
has come to a stage where the next step will be to float tenders for the
plants, estimated to cost Rs. 49 crore. The cost also includes
modernisation of the existing 200-tonne-capacity waste treatment plant,”
said MCC health officer D.G. Nagaraj.
Dr. Nagaraj toldThe
Hinduthere was no need to relocate the Sewage Farm as garbage would not
be unloaded at the site once the new plants are established. “We hope to
establish the plants in a couple of years,” he said, adding that the
government and the MCC would share the expenditure on it.
The
promoters of the existing composting plant were giving to the MCC a
royalty of Rs. 6 lakh a year and 5% revenue on the compost produced from
waste. “The idea is not to make money from waste but to effectively
handle it. The MCC invested nothing on establishing the first plant,”
Dr. Nagaraj said.
