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The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in a report submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), has said that the Bidadi Waste-to-Energy (WTE) incineration plant has failed to monitor toxic and carcinogenic persistent environmental pollutants like Dioxins and Furans. In the report, the CPCB has also found that the WTE plant operator has not obtained authorisation under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. The plant is a joint venture of the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) and erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and now Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA). The plant has been established with a loan of about USD 13 million from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and technology from the Japanese firm, Hitachi Zosen. “The online monitoring system of the WTE plant is not connected to the Karnataka/Central Pollution Control Board servers. Leachate generated from the WTE plant was released without any proper monitoring and testing,” are among the other key findings of the report. Ash not tested It further stated that bottom ash and fly ash, known to contain hazardous toxins and heavy metals, have not been tested, with roughly 200 tonnes a day (34%) openly dumped into landfills. The findings also revealed that the plant was built to operate on dry waste but the waste processed in the facility has over 40% moisture content, indicating that it is burning mixed, unsegregated municipal solid waste. The FridaysForFuture-Karnataka, a People’s Initiative for Climate Justice, has demanded that the State government immediately halt incineration-based waste management projects like the Bidadi plant. ‘False solution’ “The Bidadi plant is a textbook example of a false climate solution. Across India, governments are replicating this failed model of incineration that endangers public health and violates environmental safeguards,” the FridaysForFuture-Karnataka claimed. It added that the plant was running in complete disregard to mandatory legal compliance. “The Bidadi plant has highlighted the failures of incinerators even when the technology is from Global North countries such as Japan. About 50% of incinerators in Japan have been shut down by the Japanese government between 1995 and 2021 because of the environmental and health impacts. India should not become a dumping ground for toxic technologies like incinerators,” said Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran from the Centre for Financial Accountability. In January an accident at the plant claimed the lives of five persons. The CPCB has issued a show-cause notice to the plant operator, KPC Gas Power Corporation Ltd, warning of further action if violations continue.
