RABINAYARAN JENA,OP
Bhubaneswar: A joint committee constituted on the direction of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has found that the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) is constructing a Micro Composting Centre (MCC) at Kapi Laprasad BDA Colony without obtaining the mandatory environmental consents.
According to the report submitted by the joint committee September 11, the BMC has not yet obtained the Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate from the Odisha State Pollution Control Board for the facility.
The committee, comprising the regional officer of the State Pollution Control Board and an additional district magistrate, conducted a joint inspection of the Kapilaprasad MCC July 3, following the NGT’s direction.
Representatives of the BMC, the complainant and local residents were present during the inspection.
The committee found that the MCC is located in a predominantly residential area and is surrounded by residential houses.
The facility has a designed processing capacity of 10 tonnes of waste per day and comprises two wet-waste processing sheds, a dry-waste shed and a concrete tank.
The inspection also established that the MCC did not have the required consent under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act.
The findings have raised questions over the BMC’s deci sion to proceed with construction of the waste-processing facility in a residential locality without securing the statutory approvals from the pollution control board.
The joint committee has asked the Urban Development Department and the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) to clarify the current land-use status of the site and the status of the City development plan.
As per the committee’s recommendations, the BMC must obtain all necessary permissions within 60 days.
It has also directed that the capacity of the solid waste management facility should not be increased until the required approvals are obtained and the land-use status is clarified.
The committee further recommended strengthening measures to control foul odours, flies and mosquitoes and ensuring effective stormwater and leachate management systems.
The committee also highlighted the 300 tonnes-per-day (TPD) compressed biogas (CBG) plant being constructed at Meherpalli as a joint initiative of the BMC and Oil India Ltd.
The plant will produce CBG, organic manure and biofertilizer from segregated wet waste.
Commercial production is targeted by April 2027.
The committee directed the BMC deputy commissioner to assess how much of the wet waste currently being sent to the Kapilaprasad MCC can be diverted to the Meherpalli plant once it becomes operational and submit a report.
