The infamous Ghazipur landfill of Delhi to host Bio-CNG plant

A bio-CNG plant is set to be established in the controversial Ghazipur area of Delhi, aiming to produce clean fuel from wet waste collected from local wholesale markets and residential colonies. This will be the second such plant in the city, following the one at Okhla. Last month, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) approved an MoU with Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) to develop the plant, which will convert organic waste into fuel gas.

Ghazipur is infamous for the large hill-type mounds of legacy waste that leaches and pollutes the entire area around of several kilometres throwing the scientific disposal of waste out of window in the national capital.

The bio-CNG project is expected to help reduce the waste dumped at the overburdened Ghazipur landfill. The MCD anticipates that the plant will become operational within 18 months of signing the MoU. According to the initial plan, MCD will provide the land, and IGL will develop the site and construct the plant independently.

The MCD will supply approximately 350 tonnes of fresh wet waste daily, which will be processed into compressed natural gas for fuel. The plant is expected to use 100 tonnes of municipal solid waste per day, producing 4,000 kg of compressed biogas (CBG), 15 tonnes of city compost, and 50 kilolitres of wet slurry daily. The compost can be used in MCD nurseries, gardens, and green belts or sold in the open market after quality improvements.

The bio-CNG plant will be built on a 10-acre site at the rear of the landfill. Meanwhile, work at the Okhla bio-CNG site is progressing rapidly, and once completed, it will process around 200 tonnes of wet and dairy waste daily to generate clean fuel for vehicle operations.