Long-term solution for city’s waste treatment woes: MLA Ramdas

Mysore/Mysuru: Tenders have already been called to set up two new Solid Waste Treatment and Recycling Plants to handle the city waste at Kesare and Rayanakere and these plants would augment the city’s waste handling capacity for at least 10 years, said Krishnaraja (KR) MLA S.A. Ramdas this morning. 

Reacting to a question posed by Star of Mysore on the Karnataka Cabinet’s approval of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) worth Rs. 14.38 crore to clear mounds of legacy waste that has piled up at the Solid Waste Management Unit (Excel Plant) at Sewage Farm premises in Vidyaranyapuram, MLA  Ramdas said that he was committed to clear the waste as soon as the waste plants at Kesare and Rayanakere begins functioning. 

Over 3.08 lakh tonnes of waste will be cleared from Vidyaranyapuram under the pro-ject through biomining or bioremediation. 

This waste has been dumped for over 30 years and now, more than 200 tonnes of waste has been added to the growing mountains of legacy waste. 

“Since the beginning we have been saying this and we are committed to clear the waste. Now that the MCC has already invited the tenders for Kesare and Rayanakere projects, work on them will begin soon. The Vidyaranyapuram waste will not be shifted here and will be disposed of there itself through biomining and recycling and already works are underway,” Ramdas said. 

MCC sources said that the tender process for setting up the waste treatment plants at a cost of Rs. 41 crore had been completed. While the plant at Kesare will have a capacity to treat and recycle 200 tonnes of waste per day, the one at Rayanakere will treat 150 tonnes per day. Tenders and financial bids have been cleared and the work order will be issued soon, officers said.

Mysuru city generates nearly 450 tonnes garbage daily of which almost 200 tonnes of it goes to the waste treatment plant at the Sewage Farm and about 150 to 200 tonnes go to landfills and dumping sites and the rest are processed at the zero waste management facilities. “The project has got clearance by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority-Karnataka. Once the Rayanakere and Kesare plants start functioning, waste will not be brought to Vidyaranyapuram,” Ramdas added.