The budget proposal to aid local bodies in taking up
waste-to-energy projects in public-private partnership mode is expected
to improve urban waste management in Kochi and other cities.

Union
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had proposed “to support municipalities
implementing waste-to-energy projects by offering viability gap
funding, repayable grant and low-cost capital”.

Incidentally,
the Suchitwa Mission is spearheading a project to set up
waste-to-energy projects in seven cities, including Kochi,
Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Kollam, Kozhikode and Kannur. The Kochi
project is expected to come up at the Brahmapuram plant site of Kochi
Corporation. Kochi would be the first city to have a modern plant as the
paper works for the project are in the final stages if the hopes of the
State government materialises. The State government has proposed to
complete the Kochi project before March 2014.

The
Union government hopes that a push to such projects would help in
processing the huge volumes of garbage churned out by the cities each
day.

George Chakkachery, Executive Director of
Suchitwa Mission, felt the budgetary proposal had special significance
in Kerala where composting or similar technologies were difficult to
implement. Kerala needs projects which can treat waste instantaneously
and waste-to-energy plants attain significance in this context. The
Centre’s offer might prompt more local bodies to take up such projects,
said Dr. Chakkachery.

Tony Chammany, Kochi Mayor,
felt that the Centre’s offer for providing viability gap funding would
help local bodies like Kochi to go ahead with its proposal for setting
up units.

The power generated from the waste to energy projects would be costly when compared to other modes of energy generation.