Expert Committee Never Suggested Gasification Plant For Municipal Waste Treatment Thiruvananthapuram: The government awarded the contract to set up modular wastetreatment plant at Chalai at a cost of Rs 60 crores to Loro Enviropower by overruling the recommendations of the expert committee headed by RVG Menon Two weeks after TOI pointed out a list of violations in the tender process and cited the dubious history of the company that won the project, Menon told TOI that the project was tweaked. According to Menon, the expert committee had never recommended gasification for treating municipal solid waste (MSW) in Thiruvananthapuram. “We had suggested composting and bio-methanation for the treatment of solid waste. However, the government went for gasification technology. I am not aware why the government decided so,” said Menon. The committee report, which TOI has accessed, clearly states that major municipal corporations should be encouraged to collect segregated dry and wet waste. It further adds that modern composting or bio-methanation, followed by dewatering of slurry, should be used for treating wet waste. “For the biodegradable fraction of the MSW, the committee recommends biological treatment, involving biomethanation or aerobic composting,” recommends the committee report. The committee bases this conclusion on the characteristics of the MSW in Kerala, such as high moisture content, high biodegradable fraction, high ambient temperature and humidity. When asked why he did not question the government decision to go for gasification, Menon said, “We only analyzed the technologies and suggested what was best suited for Kerala. Different companies will come up with different claims. It’s up to the government to verify those claims and choose the deserving one.” The committee refers to gasification only for processing the rejects from composting, not solid waste. Meanwhile, the local self government department is yet to submit the enquiry report sought by minister for urban affairs Manjalamkuzhy Ali following the articles published by TOI. Though the deadline for submitting the report was February 18, sources said the report was not finalized yet. LSG principal secretary V S Senthil refused to answer repeated phone calls from TOI. PANEL TIPS FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT Panel recommended composting and bio-methanation for treating solid waste Major municipal corporations should be encouraged to collect segregated dry and wet waste Modern composting followed by dewatering of slurry to treat wet waste Biological treatment of biodegradable municipal waste