Haryana to get waste-to-charcoal plants

    Chandigarh, Jun 30 (PTI) Haryana will soon get waste-to-charcoal plants, also known as green coal plants, said an official statement here on Sunday.
    An MoU for this plant will be signed between NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVNL) and the Haryana Government.
    After setting up the plants in Gurugram-Manesar and Faridabad, this initiative will be expanded to other cities in Haryana. NVVNL officers will soon visit a few sites for establishing green coal plants.
    "Due to the strenuous efforts of Union Power and Housing and Urban Affairs Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar, Haryana will soon get waste-to-charcoal plants, also known as green coal plants," the statement said.
    A meeting in this regard was held on Friday evening at Shram Shakti Bhawan in New Delhi, chaired by Khattar, it said.
    "The minister is highly committed to reducing the problem of the increasing quantity of municipal solid waste and using it beneficially for renewable energy production. During the meeting on waste-to-energy, detailed discussions were held on NVVNL's initiative to produce green coal from solid waste," the statement said.
    According to the statement, green coal, also known as bio-coal, is a sustainable alternative to traditional waste, as it can be blended with regular coal for electricity generation in thermal power plants.
    NVVNL recently established a plant in Varanasi to produce green coal from solid waste. Once fully operational, this plant will consume 600 tonnes of waste and produce 200 tonnes of green coal, leaving very little residue. NVVNL is also working in various stages to set up green coal plants in Haldwani, Vadodara, Noida, Gorakhpur, and Bhopal, it said.
    During the meeting, Khattar directed that green coal projects should be established in various districts of Haryana.
    Commissioner, Municipal Corporation Gurugram Dr Narhari Singh Bangar mentioned that the MCG has already initiated this process and shown some sites in Gurugram with the NVVNL officials.
    Khattar, who is also former Chief Minister of Haryana, instructed that the MC, in collaboration with NVVNL, should set up a green coal plant at Bandhwari or alternative sites around Gurugram and Manesar.
    He stated that this plant should be capable of consuming around 1200 tonnes of solid waste daily.
    Similarly, Faridabad MC should start the process with NVVNL to set up a plant with a capacity of 1,000 tonnes per day on the available land in village Mothuka. Establishing waste-to-green coal plants in Gurugram-Manesar and Faridabad will not only provide a permanent solution to the waste problem but also increase energy production, he said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)