Aafrin Kidwai 
The Supreme Court has cleared the contruction of a state-of-the-art waste-to-energy (WtE) plant in Agra which was pending for four years. This is the first WtE plant to be built in Uttar Pradesh.
According to Agra Municipal Corporation (AMC) officials, the advanced municipal solid waste (MSW) processing plant will be built at the Kuberpur landfill site within the next 18 months.
It will produce 15 MW electricity by processing 1000 metric tonnes of solid waste per day. A huge amount of legacy waste (about 6 lakh tones as per AMC records) has accumulated over a period of time at the landfill site, besides the 700- 750 tonnes of mixed MSW that is dumped at the landfill site every day. Bioremediation is currently underway.
The Supreme Court has reportedly issued strict guidelines for the project execution, based on recommendations by NEERI and the Central Pollution Control Board.
Faridabad-based Spaak Bresson Pvt Ltd has been roped in to execute the WtE project and expects to begin construction of the plant after local clearances are obtained. Says Mr Pankul Rathore, Chairman and CEO – Spaak Bresson, “It is our honor and chance to serve our motherland by setting up a state-of-the-art WtE plant in Agra. It is a 15MW plant with a capacity to process 1000TPD waste – as of February 2021.”
