The Hindu                  30.07.2012

Supplying green cover for city

 HMDA’s Tall Plant Nursery was started in 1986

In a city that is fast losing its touch of green cover, given the high concretisation all over, this patch of land at Erragadda stands out for its endeavours at restoring the green balance.

At the nursery of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), from carefully selected seedlings, saplings are raised and once grown, sent to different parts of the city to line up the streets, afforestation and also to green various campuses.

Spread over eight acres, the Tall Plant Nursery alongside the Institute of Mental Health boasts of what could be one of the largest collections of tall plants in these parts. Started in the year 1986, it has been instrumental in raising and dispatching various plant species to all over the city from campuses to various highways leading out here. Forest species and those meant for ornamental and avenue plantation are all grown here and the available plants range from few inch saplings to several feet high. “We have a total of 30 species in different sizes and some among the tallest are 12 feet Raavi (Ficus religiosa),” says P. Rajender Reddy, Director, HMDA Urban Forestry.

In various stages of their lives, the saplings and plants arrayed at this nursery count to more than 4,23,000 which makes it a rare collection. Even as some get dispatched for plantation to different locations, more are raised on a continuous basis. It is a round-the-year exercise for the nursery staff and starts with seed origin. “Seeds come in different seasons and we keep collecting as per their availability and subject them to viability. Those found right are then sown into small bags and as they grow, shifted to bigger ones,” says Mr. Reddy.

Priced in a range of Rs.5 to Rs.150 per sapling based on their growth, the species available here include some not-so-easily available ones such as ‘Sita Ashoka’ and ‘Naga Linga’ while a ‘Maredu’ or ‘Bilva’ (Aegle marmelos) can be acquired at Rs.55.

Not just institutions or government agencies, even individuals come to pick up different saplings from the nursery which has a menu with a wide offering from Neem (Azadirachta indica) to Pagoda (Mimusops elengi) and Silver Oak (Grevillea robusta). “There is good demand for Neem and we do not have adequate stocks. We are now increasing its availability,” Mr. Reddy adds.

•  Saplings are raised and once grown, sent to different parts of city for plantation
• Saplings arrayed at this nursery count to more than 4.23 lakh making it a rare collection
  

The Hindu    30.07.2012

Bangalore firm to help do away with plastic waste

The Corporation, still in the dark about how to dispose of the organic waste generated in the city with the Vilappilsala plant remaining closed, has some hope on the plastic waste disposal front.

The civic body has arrived at an understanding with the Bangalore-based Green Transit Renewable Energies, which has come forward with an offer to collect and process plastic waste from the city.

Final round of discussions was held last week by the city Corporation and the Suchitwa Mission authorities with the representatives of the company regarding the setting up of a pyrolysis plant for processing plastic waste.

The plant with a capacity to process 10 tonnes of plastic waste per day is proposed to come up near Thonnakkal on the land leased out by the Sathya Sai Orphanage Trust. As per the agreement reached between the Corporation and the company, the Corporation will provide segregated, cleaned and dried plastic to the company, which will use it as a raw material for the pyrolysis plant.

“This is entirely a private project coming up on a private land. The State government and Corporation have only agreed upon providing plastic waste to the company. As of now, there are no financial deals between the company and the Corporation. The plastic waste will be provided free of cost,” an official of Suchitwa Mission said.

Soon to take off

Mayor K. Chandrika said the project was expected to take off within a couple of months soon after the pyrolysis plant was constructed at Thonakkal.

“Once this project is implemented, we will be able to collect plastic waste from every household in the city. We can employ Kudumbasree Clean Well unit workers for the work,” Ms. Chandrika said.

G. Murali Krishnan of Green Transit Renewable Energies said the “100 per cent eco-friendly plastic pyrolysis” plant would decompose the plastic waste into furnace oil, carbon black and natural gas. “Furnace oil, which can be used for boilers or refined further into liquid petroleum products, will be the major by-product of this pyrolysis plant. Around 35 per cent of the residue will be carbon black and around 12 per cent will be natural gas,” he said.

“While furnace oil and carbon black can be sold out, we will be using the natural gas to run the plant, making it a self-sufficient project in terms of energy. All kinds of plastic waste and even rubber and used lubricants can be processed in the plant,” Mr. Krishnan said.

He said the construction of the plan would begin within a fortnight of signing formal agreements. “We have similar plastic pyrolysis plants in Maharashtra, Gujarat, New Delhi and Andhra Pradesh. The plant coming up in Thiruvananthapuram will be a Rs.2.64-crore project. The construction of the plant is expected to be completed in 60 days,” he said.