From garbage to green power
Residents of Howrah may finally heave a sigh of relief as it will not be long before the garbage dump at Belgacchia in Howrah is turned into a green power plant. The Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) has already prepared the letter of intent (LOI). It will be sent to the state government for approval and then sent to Solid Waste Electricity Company (Selco) International Limited, the company which has bagged the project, for its perusal. An official of the building and planning department of the civic body, said: "The letter has been drafted, it just needs the state government's approval before being sent to Selco. Once LOI reaches Selco, it will then have to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for which we have given them 10 days time. Selco will then have to get clearance from the environment department as well as the Pollution Control Board.' He added that once all these formalities are completed, the memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed. At the time of signing of MoU, Selco will be paying Rs 10 lakh to the HMC as guarantee. Selco, the Hyderabad-based company, will then get 18 months time to complete the power plant project. However, it may be granted an extended time of six months if it is unable to complete the project within 18 months, owing to any unavoidable circumstances. The official further added that a power purchase agreement (PPA) will be signed between Selco, HMC and West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WBREDA) only when the green plant starts producing electricity. Though the official refused to divulge details of the tariffs the civic body has set to impose on Selco, he said that HMC will be enjoying major benefits. The decision to turn the huge heap of garbage at Belgacchia into a green plant was taken in June last year by WBREDA, HMC and DM. However, it took some months before Selco was chosen for the project, defeating two foreign investors, one each from China and the USA. Mr Imitiaz Ahmed, MMiC (garbage and conservancy), said: "We had invited global tenders and so even foreign companies had shown interest in the project. However, Selco was selected as it had the right expertise and suited the interests of the civic body.' The HMC will supply about 600 metric tons of garbage every day which will generate 6 MW power. The project is the first of its kind in West Bengal.
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