Ludhiana (Punjab): MC to hire pvt firm for horticulture waste mgmt, biofuel production

By Nidhi Bhardwaj

With heaps of green waste littering the city, horticultural waste has emerged as a major challenge for the MC, especially during change of season. The civic body has made arrangements to tackle such waste with the help of shredders, but this is not enough. The MC has now decided to hire a private contractor to implement integrated waste management for mixed horticultural waste and conversion of organic waste into biofuel. Tenders have been floated for the purpose.

According to officials, approximately 10 to 15 metric tons (MT) of horticultural waste (HW) is produced in the city per day, depending on seasonal variations. The integrated waste-to-resource conversion project is an initiative aimed at addressing the challenges of horticultural waste management within the municipal limits of Ludhiana city. The project focuses on converting horticultural waste, coconut waste, and cow dung into valuable biofuel.

Under this project, the contractor will be responsible for reducing the burden on landfill sites by converting organic waste into useful energy/biofuel resources. The selected firm/agency will be responsible for all necessary activities to ensure proper establishment and efficient functioning of the plant. The selected bidder will be responsible for establishing, operating, and maintaining a 15 TPD horticulture waste processing plant at the MCL project site.

The plant must utilise eco-friendly technology to process both wet and dry horticulture waste efficiently. The contractor shall ensure that the system remains operational 24×7 throughout the contract period, as per the requirements of the MC. The bidder will be provided with tractors and other vehicles for collection of mixed horticultural waste (both wet and dry) directly from source. Officials plan to launch this service for city residents and collect waste from households as well.

Collected waste shall be transported to the processing plant and converted into briquettes, pellets, or other suitable products based on the selected technology. The bidder must ensure that all waste treatment and disposal activities adhere to environmental safety standards and contribute to sustainable waste management practices.

However, an MC official expressed concern about the severe shortage of staff in the civic body, especially in the horticultural branch and field staff. Therefore, he said that they had decided to hire a private firm to handle the waste, which would enable them to manage other tasks.

In the absence of proper management, dry leaves and trash are burnt frequently, polluting the environment. There is a provision of penalty on defaulters for burning waste.

This article has been republished from The Times of India.