Due to opposition however, a single 750 tonne project was approved at Ramtekdi.
After multiple failures, an old project has been included as ‘new’ in the 2025-26 budget by the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC’s) solid waste department. The waste-to-energy project, pending for the past seven years, has been reintroduced under a new name.
The PMC began efforts to set up a waste-to-energy project at Ramtekdi Industrial Estate in 2012-13. Initially, two projects were planned at Uruli Devachi with capacities of 500 and 250 tonnes. Due to opposition however, a single 750 tonne project was approved at Ramtekdi. The company tasked with the project failed to generate electricity even after implementation, leading to criticism. Instead of producing electricity, the company only produced boiler fuel which resulted in thousands of tonnes of waste piling up at the site, turning it into a waste depot. Later, the company withdrew due to technical issues following which the Pune Bio Company was given the contract in 2019 with the condition to start fuel production in the first year and generate electricity after completing regulatory approvals. Although fuel production began, electricity generation never started. Work was further delayed in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While the Electricity Regulatory Commission approved the project in 2022 and gave final approval in January 2024, no electricity has been generated till date.
For 12 years, the PMC has tried to convert the city waste into electricity without success. Despite multiple failures, the same project has been reintroduced in the 2025-26 budget under a new name. The new proposal states that 350 metric tonnes of waste will be processed for power generation.
Dr Rajendra Bhosale, who joined as municipal commissioner last year, was reportedly unaware of the project’s history. Taking advantage of this, the solid waste department allegedly rebranded the old plan as a new initiative.
Vivek Velankar, president of Sajag Nagarik Manch, said, “The PMC has spent crores on waste-to-energy projects without any success. Why is this failed project being pushed again? The municipal commissioner should investigate this.”
When contacted, Sandeep Kadam, head of the PMC’s solid waste management department, said, “The project has two stages. The first stage is to produce Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) and the second stage is to generate electricity. Currently, the plant is operational and producing RDF. Next, we will begin electricity generation. So, it is a new project and not an old one.”
