An ambitious bio CNG plant gathers dust. Adani is one of the bidders for this civic project.
Thankgod, VIP visitors to Vibrant Gujarat have not been taken to various routes via Pirana dump yard. All the claims of Gujarat’s infrastructure and development may get crushed under the 75 feet tall dumpyard that stores Ahmedabad’s waste.
Of course, the BJP alone cannot be blamed for the Pirana dump yard. It is a collective effort of all political parties. Since the 80’s, this site became the dumping yard of the city’s waste. Flashforward over 40 years and Pirana has become a mountain of waste.
In the past there have been fires, epidemics and overall misery reported from this land fill but nothing concrete has been done. Now we are told that the ambitious bio CNG project that was scheduled to come up at Pirana has been put on hold.
Every day, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) collects approximately 4,700 metric tonnes of solid waste to dispose of at the landfill. The landfill is characterised by three 75-feet-high massive mounds of garbage, each weighing 69 lakh metric tonnes. The waste here is dangerous and unsegregated besides being hazardous in nature.
Worse, there are over 300 families, most of them belonging to marginalised segments of the society who live here. They are characterised by the stench. Some of them, police sources claim, are also impoverished Bangladeshi residents living illegally here.
There is more bad news.
There were plans and big announcements made for a bio CNG plant being set up at Pirana. Hopes went high after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Asia’s largest bio-CNG plant at Indore in February 2022. Shortly afterwards, in a review meeting held by Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner on March 2, 2022, interest was expressed in setting up a similar project in Ahmedabad.
Soon, tenders were floated on two occasions. However, civic body insiders state that no bids were received. The third tender released on July 18, 2022 was given a week’s time. This time, three agencies submitted their bids.
“We fail to understand why the lowest quotation was rejected. The company in question also agreed to pay a monthly royalty of Rs 14.51 lakhs to AMC. Adani Total Gas Ltd also bid but was rejected. In the end, the proposal itself stood cancelled or maybe, it has been put on hold till vested interests are met,” stated a senior AMC official on conditions of anonymity.
The matter was on a quiet simmer till the two-day budget General Meeting when the state Assembly witnessed a huge uproar over the Adani-Hindenburg issue. Thereon, the Opposition raised the issue of the bio-CNG project. The project was to be piloted by the Solid Waste Management Department of the AMC on 14 acres of land in Pirana. The plant proposed to process 300 metric tons of waste daily to generate bio-CNG.
Insiders shared copies of the bids, which are available with Vibes Of India, showing the three entities which filed for the bid.
1) Indo Enviro Integrated Solution Ltd
2) Adani Total Gas Ltd
3) Saurashtra Enviro Project Pvt
Each company was to fulfil 70 percent of the technical evaluation to qualify.
“While ATGL and SEPP did not make it, Indo Enviro Integrated Solution clearly fit the bill. Matters had made a headway and it was also decided that a monthly royalty of Rs 14.51 lakh would be paid to the Corporation. Then, this proposal was sent back to the Commissioner by the Health and Solid Waste Management Committee. We suspect that an official snarl is being shown just to make way for ATGL to re-submit its bid at a later date,” shared peeved functionaries.
Tender details
Indo Enviro Integrated Solutions Ltd:
1. The tender condition by the agency is that instead of 90 per cent segregated waste, the plant will be designed keeping in mind 80 per cent segregated waste.
2. Plant to be commissioned within a period of 15 months from finalisation.
3. Will use treated water from the nearby sewage treatment plant (STP).
4. AMC manpower to be used for the Refuse Transfer Station.
Adani Total Gas Ltd
1. Zero Liquid Discharge Technology will be used
2. Waste segregation system will be put in place at the plant by ATGL.
3. Joint decision to be taken on use of treated water from nearby STP.
4. Plant to be commissioned within a period of 18 months from finalisation.
Saurashtra Enviro Project Pvt.
1. Instead of 90 percent segregated waste, the plant will be designed keeping in mind 80 percent segregated waste.
2. Plant to be commissioned within a period of 9 to 12 months from finalisation.
3. Pending approval, the agency will use treated water from the nearby STP.
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