Mumbai: The city’s first community-level biogas plant, set up by the Pali Hill Residents Association (PHRA) with CSR funding, has been non-functional since August, eight years after it began turning household waste into energy, reports The Times of India.
Located at the BMC’s Pali Hill water reservoir, the one-tonne capacity plant was launched in 2017–18 when the civic body’s larger waste-to-energy project at Deonar was still struggling to take off. Determined to act locally, PHRA started collecting and processing wet waste from about 70 residential buildings and 23 bungalows. The gas generated powered 69 streetlights across Pali Hill and nine more at the reservoir, making the neighbourhood a model for community-based waste management.
The initiative had also earned national recognition, receiving an award from the President of India during Swachh Survekshan 2019 — the only community-led project in Mumbai to be honoured that year.
However, operations stopped around August 12 this year. Madhu Poplai, secretary of PHRA, said she learned from workers at the site that the plant was no longer running. “The civic body had appointed a private agency to operate and maintain the plant. They have now said that continuing operations is not practical for them. It is disappointing because this project proved that local waste can be turned into clean energy. Instead of encouraging such examples, they are being allowed to shut down,” she said.
Poplai said she has been following up with officials since August and has also approached local MLA Ashish Shelar, who has asked the BMC to take immediate action.
Dinesh Pallewad, assistant municipal commissioner of the H (West) ward, confirmed that the appointed agency found it difficult to continue running the plant. “They have said the machinery is outdated and the cost of maintenance has become too high. We are now assessing if the civic body can handle the expenses or if the same agency can be persuaded to restart operations,” he said.
An official from the BMC’s solid waste department said efforts are being made to restart the facility soon. “The plant was also processing wet waste from nearby restaurants. Initially, it was managed under a three-party agreement between PHRA, the implementing agency, and the BMC. After three years, the civic body took over and appointed a new operator. That operator has now withdrawn, but we are in talks to get the plant running again,” the official said.
Once seen as a model for sustainable waste management in Mumbai, the Pali Hill biogas plant now stands idle, with residents hoping the civic body will revive the project that once powered their streets and inspired other communities.
