Meghalaya seeks Assam cooperation to produce energy from waste

Shillong, Sep 30: Power-starved Meghalaya wants to jointly produce energy with Assam from waste and garbage generated by the two neighbouring states.

"I had shared my idea with Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to jointly produce energy from toxic waste and garbage," Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said.

He was speaking at the Iewduh market, the largest and the oldest traditional market in Meghalaya and the hub of trade and commerce.

He said: "If both the states achieved in implementing the project then this will be the first of its kind if two states come together, it will be a big new model for other states to follow."

"We are talking to Assam to do something together may be the garbage from Guwahati (Assam), Shillong, state capital of Meghalaya and other districts headquarters of Meghalaya can converge in the place where we can generate power," Sangma said.

He said Shillong and Guwahati can come together and aggregate the garbage as the latest technology available is to produce electricity from the garbage.

Moreover, he said waste, especially from the organic garbage can be used as fuel to generate power from bio-mass garbage.

However, he said that state's garbage alone is not enough to generate power. 

The Chief Minister also said that the total garbage is 150 to 200 metric ton per day of the whole Shillong city and this is not enough for the state to generate power.