The NITI Aayog, in its Draft Three Year Action Agenda, says Biogas and Compositing not "Good" for cities.
The NITI Aayog, in its Draft Three Year Action Agenda, has drawn attention to the need for a sustainable plan for solid waste management in Indian cities. However, they have taken the stand that incineration or ‘waste to energy’ is the best option as a sustainable disposal solution for the solid waste of larger cities. Their contention is that biogas and composting for waste management generate by-products or residues in large volumes that the larger cities will find difficult to dispose of efficiently. This reasoning is flawed.
NITI fails to point out that when incineration plants in cities use unsegregated waste to generate electricity, they emit toxic gases as by-products and irresponsibly dispose of these ‘dangerous by-products’ in the air. When we do not have effective mechanisms for monitoring the emissions, the health hazard becomes even more challenging. The National Green Tribunal has recently levied a penalty on the incineration plant at Okhla in Delhi for its violations of emission norms, but residents in the neighborhood of Okhla have approached the Supreme Court with a public interest litigation for relocation of the plant. NITI’s Draft Action Agenda neither incorporates lessons from the experience of incineration plants in Delhi nor does it take note of the many success stories of bio-methanation in a number of Indian cities, including some large cities.
NITI has recommended the setting up of a Waste to Energy Corporation of India under the ministry of urban development “which may set up world-class waste-to-energy plants through PPP across the country.” They have invoked the example of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) which organises PPP efforts in roads. The parallel is inappropriate. First of all, the land on which the highways are to be built is already owned by the government of India, and there are no land acquisition issues. Besides, NHAI is a well-funded agency which receives the proceeds of the cess on petrol and diesel and also receives toll revenues. No such revenue source is available for a new central corporation on solid waste management. Will the ministry of finance fund this initiative? The land on which the plants will be built belongs to urban local governments or state governments. Should the central government set up a corporation to undertake tasks that are the responsibility of urban local bodies? This goes against the principles of cooperative federalism.
About half of the solid waste generated in Indian cities is biodegradable. If this waste is segregated at source, it can be collected and delivered to a local biomethanation plant for anaerobic processing. Unlike composting in which biogas is released into the environment, biomethanation allows the capture of biogas which can be used for cooking or for electricity generation; it also produces liquid fertiliser.
Niti Ayog has invited public comments for the proposed draft. " Looking to the strategic nature of the sector, the NEP will be finalised after wide consultations with the all the stakeholders and public at large. Through this notification on NITI Aayog’s Website, it is requested that comments, views, recommendations and any other input may be forwarded electronically to Shri Rajnath Ram, Joint Adviser (Energy), NITI Aayog on rajnath-pc@gov.in (Phone No.011-23096728) latest by 14th July, 2017." said a press release
