The New Town Kolkata Development Authority has started the work to set up its first bio methane gas plant in New Town as a pilot project that will process five tonnes of organic or wet waste per day out of about 50 tonnes of waste produced in the township.

The NKDA selected an agency to develop the project that is coming up on a 1.5 acre of land close to the canal near Balaka Abason and is expected to start functioning by the end of this year, according to officials.

They said the bio methane plant will prevent an estimated 1,500 tonne of carbon dioxide emission once it starts functioning with full capacity.

“The wet waste processed in the bio gas plant will convert the residual slurry into ready-to-use organic fertilizer of about 450kg per day for various purposes. The plant is likely to generate 600 to 650 cubic metre of bio-gas per day,” said an official.

The NKDA, however, is planning to come up with more such plants across the township in a decentralized manner, depending on how the project runs.