The budget proposal to aid local bodies in taking up waste-to-energy projects in public-private partnership mode is expected to improve urban waste management in Kochi and other cities. Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had proposed “to support municipalities implementing waste-to-energy projects by offering viability gap funding, repayable grant and low-cost capital”. Incidentally, the Suchitwa Mission is spearheading a project to set up waste-to-energy projects in seven cities, including Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Kollam, Kozhikode and Kannur. The Kochi project is expected to come up at the Brahmapuram plant site of Kochi Corporation. Kochi would be the first city to have a modern plant as the paper works for the project are in the final stages if the hopes of the State government materialises. The State government has proposed to complete the Kochi project before March 2014. The Union government hopes that a push to such projects would help in processing the huge volumes of garbage churned out by the cities each day. George Chakkachery, Executive Director of Suchitwa Mission, felt the budgetary proposal had special significance in Kerala where composting or similar technologies were difficult to implement. Kerala needs projects which can treat waste instantaneously and waste-to-energy plants attain significance in this context. The Centre’s offer might prompt more local bodies to take up such projects, said Dr. Chakkachery. Tony Chammany, Kochi Mayor, felt that the Centre’s offer for providing viability gap funding would help local bodies like Kochi to go ahead with its proposal for setting up units. The power generated from the waste to energy projects would be costly when compared to other modes of energy generation.