Delhi municipal body, BARC to produce power from cow dung
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) along with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is planning to set up a biogas plant to produce electricity from cow dung to address the twin problem of waste disposal and power generation.
The SDMC plans to use the cattle waste generated in Nangli Dairy, Goyala Dairy and Kakrola Dairy and two cow shelters Manav Gau Sadan Rewla Gaushala and Ghuman Hera Gramin Gaushala in Najafgarh for power generation.
South Delhi mayor Kamaljeet Sehrawat told Hindustan Times that the officials of BARC inspected these three dairies under the jurisdiction of the SDMC last week.
There are more than 20,000 cattle in these dairies and cow shelters and they generate more than 400 metric tonnes of waste which will be used to generate electricity through the plant.
“During the inspection, the officials suggested to first construct a boundary wall around these dairies,” she said.
The process for boundary wall construction has been started, she added.
A senior official of the South Corporation said that the plant in Najafgarh area, would be equipped to manage of 150 metric tonnes of waste. He said that the corporation along with BARC will also explore the possibility of also using kitchen or biodegradable waste.
BARC has already successfully executed several projects where it had set up biomethanation plants that convert garbage into gaseous fuel to produce electricity. This will also reduce the load to the landfill sites which are running full.
Around one tonne of waste has the capacity to generate 60 cubic metres of gas which can be used to produce electricity to power 200 streetlights for 8 hours. Sehrawat said these dairies are struggling to cope with the knee-high level of dung on their premises and the corporation is clueless about how to dispose the waste.
“Besides, solving the problem of disposal, it will help us generate electricity which can be used in these areas for lighting street lamps or other uses,” he said.
The bio gas plant is likely to be set up near Goyala Dairy Road in Najafgarh zone of SDMC. However, the final decision on it is yet not taken, he said.
While ₹9.5 lakh crore in loans taken by influential businessmen were waived over the last 30 years, small farmers and traders faced imprisonment for defaulting on relatively minuscule borrowings.
BJP parliamentarian Varun Gandhi made this claim during his keynote address at a seminar on political reforms in Bhopal on Sunday evening.
Observing that economic and social inequality has been affecting India’s poor for many decades now, Gandhi said: “A few years ago, I chanced upon a man who had taken a ₹3 lakh loan to enrol his daughter in a nursing course. But he couldn’t repay it. This person was jailed, his house was attached, and his property was auctioned. When he was released, he was given six months to repay an amount of ₹60,000 that still remained pending against his name.”
The BJP MP asked his audience to view this situation in the light of the huge loan waivers extended to businessmen in the last 30 years. “The amount comes up to ₹9.5 lakh crore. At the same time, many small farmers and traders have been imprisoned because they couldn’t repay their loans…” he said.
Gandhi said it was lamentable that the salaries of Tamil Nadu legislators should be doubled at a time when farmers from the state were protesting by drinking urine and parading skulls of dead relatives. “I feel ashamed to be a politician,” he added.
The BJP leader also cited various anecdotes – gathered during his travels across the country to research for a book he was authoring – to illustrate how people were trying to resolve problems concerning governance and social ills through education and other innovative approaches.
“Nearly 85% of the property in this country is owned by 10% of its people. This means that 90% of its people are living on a mere 15% of its expanse,” said Gandhi. “I believe there is just one way to bridge this gulf… and that’s education. In education lies the future of this country and the solution to its problems.”