Mysore/Mysuru: The controversial Solid Waste Management Unit, popularly known as the Excel Plant, at the Sewage Farm, which had drawn repeated protests from residents over the foul stench from accumulated waste, will soon cease to exist as over six lakh tonnes of legacy waste have already been cleared, former Mysuru-Kodagu MP Prathap Simha said.

Addressing reporters this morning outside the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) Office, Simha claimed credit for initiating and pursuing the project. “What seemed impossible for years and what local MLAs could not achieve, I have accomplished. I initiated the waste clearance project when V. Somanna was the Mysuru District Minister and followed it up continuously with the Central and State Governments. Today, residents can heave a sigh of relief,” he said.

He stated that the waste clearance was undertaken with financial support under the Swachh Bharat programme of the Government of India. “I secured the Rs. 52.48 crore grant from the Centre for clearing legacy waste that had piled up like mountains over the last 30 years,” he said.

Simha further disclosed that although two firms had initially bid for the project, the tenders were cancelled due to a revision in the Schedule of Rates (SR Value). The final contract was awarded in March 2024 to Surat-based D.H. Patel Company for clearing the waste through bio-remediation (bio-mining).