Gorakhpur – In line with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s vision, Gorakhpur is set to emerge as a model city for waste management in Uttar Pradesh. The Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation is spearheading the ambitious project, which includes the development of an Integrated Waste Management City over 40 acres of land in Suthni (Sahjanwa).
As part of the first phase, the Municipal Corporation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), which is establishing a plant to produce torrefied charcoal (green coal) from solid domestic waste. The unit is almost complete, and trial runs of the machinery are currently underway.
This will be India’s second plant producing torrefied charcoal from waste, the first being in Varanasi. NTPC is investing ₹255 crore in the project, which is being set up on 15 acres of land provided by the Municipal Corporation. The MoU between NTPC and the civic body was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on October 15, 2023.
A Sustainable Waste-to-Charcoal Initiative
According to Municipal Commissioner Gaurav Singh Sogarwal, the plant will have a daily capacity of 500 tonnes, utilizing the solid waste generated in the city. Gorakhpur alone produces around 500 tonnes of waste daily, of which 200 tonnes of wet waste will be used in a proposed bio-CNG plant, and the remaining dry waste will be diverted to the NTPC charcoal unit.
In addition to Gorakhpur’s waste, solid waste from nearby towns and municipalities like Khalilabad, Sahjanwa, Ghaghsara, Unwal, Maghar, and Bansgaon will also be supplied to the plant. The initiative is expected to save approximately ₹650 crore over the next 25 years in tipping fees for the Municipal Corporation, which would otherwise have been spent on the plant’s operation and maintenance.
NTPC plans to use the produced charcoal in its power plants, ensuring that minimal land will be required for storage.
Expansion Plans and Global Recognition
The Municipal Corporation is also moving forward with the installation of a 5-ton-per-day hazardous domestic waste disposal plant, with civil work currently in progress.
Additionally, a bio-CNG plant will be established on 10 acres of the Waste Management City, which will handle the processing of liquid waste. Land for this project has also been earmarked by the civic body.
The Integrated Waste Management City project has already earned international recognition. A presentation on the model was recently showcased in Berlin, Germany, at a global conference on the circular economy held in the first week of this month. Gorakhpur’s Municipal Commissioner, Gaurav Singh Sogarwal, who was part of the Indian delegation, reported that the model received high praise from international experts for its innovative and holistic approach to waste management.
