A project in Dharan that aims to produce gas from waste and improve the environment has been stalled for years due to legal and administrative confusion.
What you should know
The 'Venture Waste to Energy' project, which was launched with the aim of producing gas and fertilizer by processing the waste of Dharan Sub-metropolitan City, has been closed without being fully operational.
The waste processing center located in Dharan-6 Panwari has been closed for the last four months. After the project was abandoned, Dharan's waste management problem has become serious again.
A tripartite agreement was signed on 25 Jestha 2074 BS between Dharan Sub-metropolitan City, Alternative Energy Promotion Center and Venture Waste to Energy Pvt. Ltd. with the aim of processing Dharan's waste and producing energy. According to the agreement, this industry was operated in an area of 22 katta in Panwari with an investment of Rs 240 million. A grant of about Rs 70 million was provided by the Alternative Energy Promotion Center of the Government of Nepal and the World Bank.
The center built by Venture Waste to Energy Pvt. Ltd. aimed to replace the traditional dumping system that has been going on in Dharan for a long time, convert organic waste into a useful resource and make the city a 'clean city'. But the dream shown with the inauguration has remained unfulfilled in a short period of time.
The waste treatment center in Panwari was inaugurated on 20th Poush 2078 by the then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. At the inauguration ceremony, local people's representatives, representatives of the provincial government and concerned bodies presented this project as a solution to Dharan's long-term waste management. A plan was made to produce domestic gas and organic fertilizer by processing the large amount of organic waste generated daily.
After various studies and initial tests were successful, the project aimed to produce biogas from organic waste and use it in tempos and other vehicles. According to the plan to operate Dharan's tempos using the gas produced from waste, conversion kits were installed in more than 20 tempos and tests were also conducted to run on both petrol and gas. After the test was successful, a gas refill station was also built in the Bhotepul area. It was claimed that one kg of gas would run the tempo for 35-36 kilometers.
Similarly, it was said that it would be 10 to 15 rupees cheaper than petrol, would reduce environmental pollution, and would save Dharan Sub-metropolitan City about 30 million rupees annually in waste management expenses. But the project did not gain momentum as expected.
Dharan Sub-metropolitan City and Venture Waste to Energy Pvt. Ltd. had signed a 20-year formal agreement on waste collection and processing. According to the agreement, after the industry started producing gas commercially, 1 percent of the income had to be paid to the sub-metropolitan city and after 20 years, the entire property, including the land of the processing center, had to be transferred to the municipality. But after the industry itself was closed, these provisions have not been implemented.
Although the sub-metropolitan city had been regularly supplying waste to the industry as per the agreement, after the company closed, waste transportation, dumping and management in Dharan has again become a big challenge for the municipality.
According to Bheshraj Ghimire, head of the environment department of Dharan Sub-metropolitan City, the industry was closed due to the negligence of the federal government and industry operators, legal complications and administrative ambiguity. Dharan generates 45 to 50 tons of waste daily. He said that after the processing center was closed, the waste had to be dumped at a temporary dumping site. Ghimire informed that Dharan's waste is currently being collected and temporarily managed on the banks of Seuti River near Charkose Forest.
Industry operator Jenesh Shrestha said that he was forced to stop gas production due to government non-cooperation and lack of a clear policy. 'The lack of government policies and rules to sell the gas we produced created legal complications,' he said. 'Even though there was production, there was no marketing, and the cost only increased.' We have been demanding a policy for 3-4 years, but no concrete initiative has been taken.'
He said that the company and gas production cannot be resumed unless the government takes a clear initiative to formulate a policy. 'Our desire was to run the company, and we showed it by running it.' "But since we were unable to sell the products, we were unable to meet our expenses," he said, "so we were forced to close the company."
Dharan's 'Waste to Energy' project, which was launched with huge investment, government subsidies, and citizen expectations, has stalled, putting the city's waste management in crisis again.
