The conference was attended by municipal commissioners, experts and industry representatives from all over India.

Delivering his keynote address, P W C Davidar, secretary, energy department, Tamil Nadu, said the State’s energy consumption has been galloping in the past five years, from 38,374 million units in financial year 2004 to 53,065 million units in financial year 2009.

He said it is a big challenge to meet the energy needs through conventional sources alone and that renewable sources are the way forward.

Moreover, with so much waste generated everyday, there is a huge potential to convert it into energy, thanks to proven technology available in India and abroad, he said.

Anil Dhussa, director, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Central government, said that though urban India generates 1.5 lakh metric tonnes of municipal solid waste every day, hardly 10 per cent of it is converted into energy, as against 80 per cent in Japan and 92 per cent in Singapore.

Rainer Rehn, sales director, BMH Enviro, Finland, said that prosperity has its flip side; increasing consumption is generating huge domestic and industrial waste.

Landfills are no longer an option; on the other hand it is economically beneficial to convert huge piles of waste into energy.

He said solid recovered fuel (fuel generated from solid waste) can deliver phenomenal profits; even with conservative estimates, he said the costs (Rs 480 per metric tonne) far outweigh revenues (Rs 1,500).

However, renewable sources can only complement conventional sources of energy, said Dr R Christodas Gandhi, chairman, TEDA.

He said global energy generation, currently skewed in favour of fossil fuels, will undergo a paradigm change given the fast depleting fossil fuels.

Addressing a huge gathering of beneficiaries during the launch of the State Consumer Helpline Centre, Stalin said, “Introduction of the billing machines would arrest malpractices and ensure proper supply of commodities to every consumer in the state.” During the function, he symbolically handed over a machine to an official of the civil supplies and consumer protection department. Such machines were distributed to 1,290 fair price shops managed by the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation Limited and cooperatives on Monday alone.

The state government has already earmarked Rs 57 lakh for providing hand-held billing machines and all 30,394 fair price shops in the state would be equipped with such devices for trouble-free billing in a phased manner, Stalin said.

Of the 30,394 shops, cooperatives run 28,368 shops, Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation runs 1,197, women self-help groups manage 640, other entities run 181 and eight shops are mobile ones, he added.

He also announced that Chief Minister M Karunanidhi was planning to hike food subsidy from Rs 2,900 crore last year to Rs 3,500 crore this year.

Congratulating Food Minister E V Velu for working tirelessly to ensure proper functioning of the PDS system, Stalin said, “Though I am one of those ministers who travel the most, Velu seems to be touring more than me to every corner of the state to ensure an efficient PDS system.” Labour Minister T M Anbarasan, Mayor M Subramanian and Tambaram MLA S R Raja participated.