The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on Saturday unanimously adopted a resolution to pay Rs 66 per tonne as processing charges of wet waste to farmers.
The BBMP Commissioner Rajneesh Goel, who was answering to the queries in the Council meeting said, “We will pay them Rs 66 per tonne. We will send the compost to farmers land located within 100-kilometre radius of Bangalore city.”
Farmers interested in using the manure could approach the BBMP which will transport it free of cost to the farmers land.
Goel said he had written to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) seeking its permission to transport organic waste in a phased manner at the farmers site.
“KSPCB has allowed us to supply 20 tonnes of wet waste per acre per year,” he said. He said Rs 66 per tonne is paid to farmer for composting and sieving. In the city, on an average around 1,500 tonnes of wet waste is generated everyday and there is a good demand for organic waste. Meanwhile, a press release from BBMP said it will sign an MoU with farmers.
Accordingly, the farmers must reserve only three per cent of their land for setting up the composting unit. “This initiative will benefit farmers as well as the BBMP,” the release said.
“The BBMP will take up shredding of a large quantity of organic waste and dispatch the same,” it stated.