Ramky plans Durgapur waste handling hub

Ramky Infrastructure Ltd is planning to set up another transit station common facility for treatment of hazardous waste at Durgapur in West Bengal.

It was already operating a common facility at Haldia as a joint venture enterprise with the Haldia Development Authority.

This facility will enable industries especially around the region of Burdwan, Bankura districts which have the highest hazardous waste concentration in the state, avoid the very high cost of such waste transportation for disposal all the way to Haldia, said KSM Rao, managing director, group head, waste management, Ramky Group, at an Indian Chamber of Commerce workshop on integrated solutions for hazardous waste management in the state.

According to West Bengal Pollution Control Board figures the state generates 236,000 tonne per annum of hazardous waste out of which Burdwan contributes 166,880 tonne per annum and Bankura 351,44.20 tonne annually.

The Durgapur facility will operate the landfill method of hazardous waste management but the expensive incinerable waste disposal will be taken care of at the Haldia facility, Rao added.

The Haldia facility will not only treat hazardous waste but also bio-medical and municipal solid waste.

The investment will be around Rs 15-Rs16 crore and Ramky would want a 20-25 acre plot which is in the process of being commissioned by the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB). "We are also keen on sending vans to collect waste from smaller units in kilograms," stated Rao.

The Haldia joint venture project is being constructed at a cost of Rs 60 crore out of which Rs 10 crore is being paid by the Haldia Development Authority and Ministry of Environment and Forests and WBPCB. It will be spread over 200 acre of land and have a life of 25 years.

Chowdhury remarked that the work has been halted due to the monsoons but the first phase would be over by November 2005 and the second phase with the incinerator in August 2006.

The price per tonne of such hazardous waste could vary between Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,300 per tonne and if it includes incinerable waste the cost goes up to Rs 15,000 per tonne and currently there is no price differentiation between small scale and larger units, informed Chandan Chowdhury, chief operating officer, Ramky Infrastructure Ltd.

The major clients would be Ishpat Alloys producing 30,000 tonne annually, Rohit Ferro Technology (20,000 tonne) and Sri Vasavi Industries (14,000) tonne around the area of Durgapur and Bankura.

According to Supreme Court orders already 39 units have been closed in the state due to hazardous waste generation.