Salem civic body establish Rs 50 crore bio-CNG project

The Salem City Municipal Corporation (SCMC) is mulling to establish a Bio-Compressed Natural Gas (Bio-CNG) project on a site that is about 10-acres in size at Chettichavadi dump yard very soon. The bio-CNG project will be built with an investment of Rs 50 crore.

The urban landscape of Salem generates over 550 tonnes of domestic waste on everyday basis across its 60 wards. This waste is segregated into biodegradable and non-biodegradable categories. Biodegradable waste is processed into manure at 36 micro-composting centers across the civic body. The rest of the waste is sent to the Chettichavadi dump yard.

As per reports, the Bio-CNG plant planned in the given area will process about 160 tonnes of wet waste daily to produce biogas. The bio-CNG plant will be established under a Public-Private Partnership model on the identified 10-acre site.

It has been learnt that bids for the project were finalized recently. The city corporation has also awarded the contract to a private company. Following a field visit by company representatives, construction work is expected to commence soon as the Pongal festival is over.

The Corporation has committed to supplying 200 tonnes of wet waste daily to the company, earning Rs 315 per tonne. This arrangement will generate a daily revenue of Rs 63,000 for SCMC. The private company will sell the Bio-CNG produced at the plant to hotels and vehicles, packaging it in cylinders for distribution, officials added.

Tamil Nadu is striving to manage its waste in a scientific manner moving forward with sustainable development. Recently, the Madurai Corporation has tendered a proposal worth ₹314 crore to the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) for the construction of a waste-to-energy plant. The project has been proposed to be built near the Vellaikal dumpyard. Similarly, Tiruchi City Corporation also revealed to set up a bio-CNG plant with Rs 35 crore at the Ariyamangalam dump yard, with the capacity to process about 100 tonnes of organic waste daily.