Mumbai: BMC’s deonar waste to energy plant receives approval but misses deadline

Mumbai: BMC on September 11 received a ‘Consent to Establish (CTE)’ from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) for establishing an 8MW Waste to Energy (WTE) plant at Deonar, up from the earlier 4MW. Although the BMC budget for the year 2025-26 stated that the city’s first WTE project would scientifically process 600 Tonnes Per Day (TPD) of waste and generate about 8 MW of electricity, the CTE for the same from the MPCB was still awaited.

This approval now paves the way for the BMC to approach the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) to either sell electricity at MERC-determined rates or divert it for in-house use, particularly at the Bhandup water complex — the city’s largest water treatment facility.