Waste-to-energy plant to set up soon in Guntur

Guntur, Dec 12: The Guntur Municipal Corporation and nine urban local bodies, including the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with JITF Urban Infrastructure Ltd, a firm owned by Jindal company, to set up a 15 MW waste-to-energy plant at Naidupet in February 2016.

Delay in grounding the 15 MW waste-to-energy plant here is proving to a stumbling block to putting an end to the vexing problem of solid waste management.

The firm promised that it would start functioning within 18 months. But the project met with stiff resistance from locals at Naidupet, who were keen to cash in on the real estate boom in the region and did not want to lose their lands. They also cited the environmental impact the plant could have on the fertility of their lands.

The revenue authorities also delayed the land alienation and the inability of the firm to get the environmental clearances has put the project on hold.

Apart from Guntur and Vijayawada, the municipalities of Sattenapalli, Tenali, Tadepalli, Mangalagiri, Chilakaluripet, Vinukonda and Narasaraopet municipalities are the partners in the ambitious project.