Mysuru will be the first to have this modern hi-tech unit in State near Kuppaluru

Mysuru: The Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) that has been facing an uphill task of clearing thousands of tonnes of wet waste, dry waste, construction and excavation debris generated daily in city will soon be able to ease its burden by setting up the most advanced C&D (Construction and Demolition) Waste Recycling Plant near Kuppaluru village on the city outskirts soon.

And if all goes well as per plans, Mysuru will be the first city in Karnataka after a few Indian Metropolitan cities to have this plant.   

Speaking to Star of Mysore, MCC Commissioner K.H. Jagadeesha said that the city will get this plant with zero investment by having an understanding with Mumbai-based IL&FS Environmental Infrastructure Services Limited (IL&FS EISL) which has good reputation in handling construction and demolition waste.  

IL&FS EISL has set up such plants in New Delhi and other parts of the country, successfully operated and handled a large volume of construction and demolition waste. It has also been appreciated by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change besides Pollution Control Boards for efficiently recycling construction waste.    

He said that MCC had discussions with IL&FS EISL and it has agreed to set up this plant at 5.5 acres of land near Kuppaluru village. The agency will set up this plant purely on Private-Public Partnership (PPP model). Except land, MCC will not invest any money and the agency will manage the plant on BOOT (Build, Own, Operate and Transfer) model.

IL&FS EISL had asked the MCC to fund the transportation charges of construction, demolition and excavated material from the starting to end point at Kuppaluru. However, the MCC is negotiating over this issue of transportation charges, he added.  

Jagadeesha said that the MCC had already sent the proposal for establishment of C&D plant to the State Government seeking its approval and it will ink the deal with IL&FS EISL once the government gives its approval.

He said that the city has a population of more than 18 lakh and there are more than two lakh houses spread over 65 wards of City Corporation limits. The MCC has been receiving flak from public, environmentalists, residents and other stakeholders over the issue of handling construction waste  as people indiscriminately dump construction, demolition and excavation debris in parks, on roadsides and vacant lands.

The city has been developing rapidly in the recent years due to its close proximity to capital city of Bengaluru and is attracting people due to serene atmosphere, producing thousands of tonnes of C&D waste. C&D Recycling Technology converts C&D waste into an acceptable quality product for reuse, Jagadeesha said.  

The plant will convert C&D waste into ready-mix concrete, cement bricks, hollow bricks, pavement blocks, kerb stones, concrete bricks and M-Sand thereby reducing the consumption of fresh stones and sand and at the same time mitigating the damage caused to environment.

Moreover, these recycled concrete blocks from the plant can be used for the construction purposes.  The C&D plant has obtained certifications from International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Occupational Health and Safety Assessment (OHSAS) and Social Accountability (SA). The Union Ministry of Urban Development has also appreciated the plant for reducing the burden on landfills and providing employment opportunities to the locals, Jagadeesha said.  

The MCC Commissioner has also said that dumping of such waste on land was also causing shortage of dumping places and moreover, improper disposal of such waste is choking storm water drains and polluting areas.

By Ramesh Kebbehundi