GUNTUR: The State government, under the leadership of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, is striving to free urban areas in Andhra Pradesh from dump yards by October 2025, said Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) P Narayana. He visited the solid waste management plant at Kondaveedu in Chilakaluripet constituency, Palnadu district on Tuesday.
The plant, operated by Jindal Group, converts municipal solid waste into electricity and produces bricks from the ash. The Minister, along with local MLA Prathipati Pulla Rao, Swachha Andhra Corporation Chairman K Pattabhi Ram, and Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) Commissioner P Srinivasulu, reviewed the plant’s operations. The plant handles 1,200 tonnes of waste daily from three municipal corporations -- including Vijayawada, Guntur, and Mangalagiri-Tadepalli -- and six municipalities: Tenali, Sattenapalle, Narasaraopet, Chilakaluripet, Bapatla, and Ponnur. Highlighting the plant’s efficiency, Narayana emphasised that sustainable waste management can significantly contribute to clean energy production. He also announced that plans to set up new plants in Nellore-Gudur and Kakinada-Rajahmundry corridors, and between Kadapa, Kurnool, and Anantapur are underway. These projects aim to manage 6,890 tonnes of municipal waste generated daily across the State. Further, he explained that the cost of treating one tonne of garbage is currently between Rs 500 to Rs 750, emphasising the importance of efficient waste transportation and treatment to reduce expenses.
He noted that a single facility could serve municipalities and areas within a 50 to 60 km radius, significantly streamlining waste management efforts. Plants in Kondaveedu and Visakhapatnam currently process 2,169 tonnes of waste daily, the MAUD Minister pointed out.
Elaborating on decisions taken by the TDP-led NDA government between 2014 and 2019, he said, “I studied solid waste management in countries like Singapore and Japan, where advanced systems are operational. Singapore has four such plants and 49 in Tokyo. Inspired by these models, we planned to set up 13 waste-to-energy plants in AP. Unfortunately, the previous YSRCP government abandoned most of these projects. As a result over 85 lakh metric tonnes of garbage piled up.”
He criticised the previous government for focusing solely on imposing garbage tax and burdening people without effectively addressing waste disposal issues. He highlighted that an amendment has already been made to eliminate the garbage tax. Swachha Andhra Corporation MD Anil Kumar Reddy, Jindal AP President (Operations) MV Chari, and GMC officials were present.