Bhopal Environmental Private Limited (BEPL)’s parent company, Energy Developments Limited (EDL), an Australian company that has been trying get a foothold in Bhopal has got rid of its toxic technology for generating energy from waste but this city is still pursuing it.

BPEL has signed an agreement to set up a resource incineration plant in Bhopal. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) based power project at Bhanpur entails setting up plant of 10.80 MW capacity. The proposed Waste To Energy (WTE) plant in Bhanpur dumping ground is based on gasification technology to dispose off 500 metric tonnes (MT) of waste per day. The total project cost is Rs 130 crore.

The company has failed to answer most environmental feasibility questions. On 21 July 2003, in a press release on its website (www.edlindia.com), the company has resolved to cease funding the waste-to-energy SWERF plant at Whytes Gully, near Wollongong, Australia.

As a consequence of this EDL would stop funding development of the projects and with this all its project agreements in India have become redundant. This development has vindicated the stand of the environmental groups in India about the unsustainability of burn technologies as is mentioned in Kyoto Protocol and Stockholm Convention.

The projects based on this technology in are now meaningless because the proposals were made on the basis of its claims about Wollongong project, which has been dumped.

The Australian Federal Government had refused to allow the company to receive Renewable Energy Credits because they were allowing plastics into the process and since plastics are made from a fossil fuel it cannot be termed renewable. The attempt of the Indian Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources to promote it for the Renewable energy credits to make a profit despite Timapur blunder has been exposed and the gullibility and connivance of the Kanpur Nagar Nigam is starkly glaring.

Earlier this technology has been shelved in Delhi and Kanpur because of its heavily polluting nature but the Madhya Pradesh state government is promoting it unmindful of its disastrous consequences despite the fact that it entails misuse of multilateral environment agreements.

The company's core technology, called gasification, is an incineration process that emits dioxins, amongst many other toxic pollutants. Incineration transfers the hazardous characteristics of waste from solid form to air, water and ash. It also releases new toxins, which were not present in the original waste stream, besides generating heavy metals. Dioxin, is a proven cancer-causing toxin, and has been classified as a Persistent Organic Pollutant (POP).

Given that the company has failed to make SWERF a commercially viable technology, one fails to see any benefit in this project, which is going to make Bhopal residents guinea pigs for experiment.

Bhopal 's waste problem is serious but the decision to allow a private company to use an unproven toxic technology to dispose that waste is uncalled for. The government should drop this dubious proposal with immediate effect.

The Municipal Corporation Bhopal (MCB) and Bhopal Environmental Private Limited (BEPL) has signed an agreement to generate electricity from waste. BEPL has been formed only for the agreement in reality it is an Australian company, named Energy Developments Limited India Pvt Limited (EDL). The parent Australian company of BPEL, has withdrawn its funding for the prototype plant at Whytes Gully in Wollongong, Australia. The Managing Director of both the companies is Sunand Sharma. Even the technology used by both of them is the same.

One fails to comprehend how can a technology found polluting in Delhi and Kanpur, be considered non-polluting in Bhopal. The Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) had categorically termed it as polluting, but Municipal Corporation Bhopal (MCB) and MP government is going ahead with the project.

The company on its website (www.energydevelopments.com) on July 21, 2003 the company has stated that it has withdrawn funding for the SWERF (Solid Waste-Energy Recycling Facility) plant and associated technology and is looking for a new partner for the technology.

Given that the company has failed to make SWERF a commercially-viable technology, we fail to see its benefit for Bhopal residents. The government must drop its plan to pursue a technology that has not found acceptance elsewhere.

However, on the future of the Bhopal project, there is no official word from the company's Indian wing. In its statement available on its website, the Australian company has said that its Board members had resolved to "cease funding of the company's
proportion of development expenditure at the waste-to-energy at Whytes Gully, Wollongong".

Environmentalists, who have been opposed to the Bhopal Municipal Corporation's decision to pursue the SWERF technology plant at Bhanpur, now feel that the recent developments have only vindicated their stand that the technology was not viable. The environmental groups have also been raising their voice against the "harmful nature" of the project that was designed to use gasification/pyrolysis technology to generate electricity.

A new trend, which defies sanity and baffles experts, is being witnessed in Bhopal.
BMC has entered into an agreement, which facilitates toxic technology transfer in Bhopal.

According to a letter written by M B Ojha, Commissioner, MCB to the Secretary, Urban Administration and Development on 5 September 2003, “10 acres of land has been handed over for the installation of waste to electricity plant. Although till now plant has not been constructed, the company has been issued a letter to install the plant at the earliest.” The Commissioner has misinterpreting the guidelines set by Supreme Court. Even some of the senior officials at the Bhopal Corporation were unaware that the company had withdrawn funding for its Australian plant for the SWERF technology and despite withdrawal of funding on July 21, 2003. The officials in Bhopal are going ahead with proposal as is evidenced by Commissioner’s September letter to the Secretary.

What is more interesting is that the Technology Advisory Group (TAG) set up to provide technical guidance, is not even intimated about these agreements.

According to the Municipal Corporation Bhopal (MCB), there will be a generation of 785 lakh unit of electricity which will be sold through M.P Electricity Board at the rate of Rs 3.10 per unit. In order to get this project implemented Union Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy will provide Rs 162 lakh to the MCB. M.P Urja Vikas Nigam (MPUVN) will act as a facilitator for that it will get almost Rs 54 from MNES. The waste will be provided by MCB. The lease agreement has also been finalised.

Its claim that the plant will eliminate the need for dumping ground is also false. Where will he dispose off the ash? MPUVN in its release has earlier stated that the plant will use plastics, paper and other materials after separating glasses and other inert materials. Encouraging unsegregated waste, which contains plastics and chlorinated material, is unlawful. The MPUVN website mentions that the project is under the active consideration of MCB.

The onus of distributing this three times costly electricity will lie with MP Electricity Board. Entrusting Bhopal's waste to such an untried technology with 500 mt per day, is also fraught with dangers. Bhopal is also providing free land and waste to this technology. Here also contrary to Schedule IV of the Municipal Solid Waste Rules, 2000, the signatories of the agreement have not sought any approval from the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board or Central Pollution Control Board, as is mandatory.

This project never went through Environment Impact Assessment (EIA), even as MoEF keeps conducting EIA workshops for catering to the needs of international funding organisations. There has been no public hearing in any of the cases as result the residents who reside in the vicinity of such proposed plants are not even aware that such toxic projects are coming up in their neighbourhood.

Although Ajai Vikram Singh, Secretary, Union Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources has informed that his ministry has withdrawn funding, he has not announced the same officially. MNES ought to correct the flaws in its waste to energy policy with urgency and stop incentives for such project. It is high time the MNES rescinds its order seeking promotion of this policy in its present shape. S Nigam, the Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has termed these technologies polluting and has opposed its inclusion in the WTO list of environment and goods and services but MP government has chosen to remain oblivious of this.

Beware of toxic WTE projects involving Incineration, Gaification/Pyrolysis:

The proponents of these projects have failed to demonstrate-how can this energy generated be termed as renewable if the resources present in the waste are destroyed forever. It ignores the its past failure of any success even at a pilot level any where in the country. It has not answered questions like:
· How will it be ensured that no contaminants (heavy metals, PVC etc.) enter the process?
· How does the pre-treatment separate the biomass from the other stuff?
· What is going to be done with the non-putresicibles? What kind pollution control equipment is being fitted?
· What kind of tests, will be carried out during the operation of the plant and their frequency? What permits have the company taken from the Pollution Control Board?
· What does the `char' and the fuel gas consist of?