Patna, May 18: The much promised waste management plant on the city outskirts is yet to see the light of day.

In 2007, the state government had first announced that a state-of-the-art waste management facility would be developed to treat garbage and generate power and bio-fertilisers.

Four years on, the future of the solid waste management plant still hangs in the balance even as huge amount of garbage from the city is dumped at the site identified for the project. Sources in the state urban development department said the Rs 36-crore project had been handed over to a Calcutta-based agency through the implementing agency, Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC).

However, no one knows what the status of the project is even as about 750 metric tonnes (MT) of solid waste collected from the capital is dumped in Ramachak Bairiya village, about 35km from Patna and New Bypass on the fringes of the city. The untreated garbage not only emits a foul smell and unhealthy gases, it also poses a serious health hazard to the people living in the nearby areas.

A senior PMC official told The Telegraph: “This is a Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission project for which the central and state governments had to share 50 per cent of the cost. For this project, the state government had released Rs 18 crore and Rs 5 crore was released by the Union government. About 80 acres has already been acquired in the village. However, work has not started and the project is in the cold chamber now.”

According to the planning, the solid waste will be segregated into three parts at the disposal point-organic biodegradable material including rotten vegetables and fruits, inorganic materials, and polythene bags and sheets.

“The organic and biodegradable wastes will be used to create compost, vermiculture and generating energy. The inorganic waste will be used for filling the lowlands and there is a possibility of using polythene sheets and bags for laying bitumen on roads,” said a source in urban development department.

The fate of the project, meanwhile, is undecided as the government agencies responsible for executing the plan are clueless on what is the current status and fail to say anything about why it is taking so long. The deadline of the project is by the end of 2012.