Bengaluru: The state government has set a 60-day deadline for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to identify suitable land on the city’s outskirts for establishing a 300-tonne compressed biogas (CBG) plant.
Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh issued the instructions after the BBMP went slow on land identification even though GAIL India had offered to fund the plant.
At a recent meeting, BBMP officials assured the chief secretary that they would look for an alternative land near Mandur and share the location as well as the map with GAIL India. In turn, Shalini advised the GAIL authorities to check the suitability of the land for establishing a biogas plant.
The discussion on the subject was held earlier this month after GAIL India submitted a detailed representation to the government. In addition to the 300-tonne plant, the union government undertaking has proposed 15 similar plants in different parts of the state at a total investment of Rs 515 crore.
The company reminded the chief secretary that the 300-tonne plant was approved by the government in December 2022 but signing an agreement with the BBMP as well as handing over of the land is pending.
For the additional plants, a chief secretary-headed committee directed the BBMP to provide land details, including the sketch of nine tentative places where the biogas plant can be set up after obtaining the records from the revenue department. The committee gave 60 days for the BBMP to complete the formalities.
This is not the first time that the BBMP has earned the wrath of the government for not handing over the land to GAIL India. In February this year, the Chief Minister’s Office pulled up the officials for the delay despite the public sector undertaking offered to fully fund the project.
“Delay on the part of BBMP will adversely affect the 15 such projects planned across Karnataka. Compressed biogas plants are definitely sustainable and eco-friendly for the ever-growing waste disposal issue being faced in Bengaluru and other cities of the state,” the CMO said.
As per the proposal, GAIL India offered to process the segregated wet waste without charging any fee to the BBMP. The company committed to producing 10.7 tonnes of Bio-CNG, approximately 31.39 metric tonnes of high-quality manure and 180 m3 of fermented liquid organic manure per day.