Temple waste recycling plant hits resistance in Thaltej

Ahmedabad: What began as a civic effort to recycle flower waste from temples into incense sticks and other reusable products has run into stiff resistance in Thaltej, where residents have forced a temporary halt to the construction of a waste-processing plant on a public plot near Avalon Hotel.

The proposed facility, planned by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC’s) solid waste management department, was designed to process nearly one metric tonne of religious waste generated daily from temples and shrines across the city’s western areas. But the project has now become the centre of a neighbourhood-versus-civic body standoff, with locals alleging illegal tree cutting and warning that the plant could cause pollution into a densely populated residential pocket.

According to residents, workers had begun preparing the site on Final Plot No. 173 of TP Scheme No. 37 in Thaltej ward when several trees on the plot were allegedly cut down. Locals claim no prior permission or public consultation was carried out before the work began.

The issue quickly snowballed into a public protest, with residents approaching BJP corporators and AMC officials demanding immediate intervention. Following the complaints, civic authorities have temporarily stopped the work at the site.

The AMC had planned two such facilities — one each in the eastern and western parts of the city — to scientifically process flowers and other offerings discarded at religious sites. The recycled material was to be converted into incense sticks and other products as part of a sustainable waste-management initiative.

A tender for handling temple waste from western Ahmedabad had already been issued, and a private company was assigned to construct and operate the Thaltej unit. However, with local opposition intensifying, residents are now demanding that the project be scrapped entirely and shifted away from residential zones.