Public-funded waste mgmt starts in Nawanshahr today

Tribune News Service

Nawanshahr, November 22

Even as the municipal solid waste management issue has been hanging fire in Jalandhar, the scheme is set to start in Nawanshahr tomorrow, largely with public participation.

The unique part of the project is that not even a single penny is being spent by the government and it is an entirely a public-funded project. The garbage lifting cycle carts and motor vehicles, which will be used for door-to-door lifting of waste, have come through donations. A compost manufacturing machine, too, has been taken on a three-month trial from a Jalandhar-based industrialist and tie-up has been done with scrap dealers for lifting the recyclable waste.

Giving an impetus to the project is not the local Municipal Committee but the district administration. Deputy Commissioner (DC) Sonali Giri said, “People here were very upset over the erratic lifting of waste since the waste management project earlier run by Jindal group for Jalandhar cluster (of which Nawanshahr was a part) got scrapped. I just gave a push to the project and things started unfolding on their own. I encouraged the formation of ward-level committees for making things systematic.”

She said, “The committee representatives told me that they required carts for which tendering would have been a long process. So, I asked them to explore the possibility of public contribution and it worked. As of date, there are 19 wards in the Nawanshahr MC and we have 20 carts with us, in addition to other vehicles. We even initially thought of buying dustbins for wet and dry waste through the same mode. But the public representatives told us that since they already had bins at their place, there was no need to spend more of people’s money on this. We even took the help of Rotary Clubs for buying safety accessories like gloves, glasses, masks, boots and jackets.”

According to the DC, the ward committee members have educated people on keeping the organic and inorganic waste separate. They even intend to organise nukad nataks (plays) to spread a word on why it is important. The organic waste will be fed into a specially designed machine Xaper, owned by Ajay Palta of Palta Engineering Works, Focal Point, Jalandhar. This machine is with us for a three-month trial. The machine can further separate any concrete or metal pieces, even if going in the organic waste. So the compost getting ready will be much safer to use, she said.

“As per the trials going on, we expect that the residual waste will be anywhere between 10-12 per cent of its volume now. We intend to have 100 honey-combed pits in the landfill site for aeration, of which we already have dug up 25. Hope things move in the right track from tomorrow on,” she added.

About the project

• Garbage lifting cycle carts and motor vehicles, which will be used for door-to-door lifting of waste, received through donations. 
• A compost machine taken from an industrialist on a three-month trial. 
• Rotary Clubs help buy safety accessories like gloves, glasses, masks, boots and jackets. 
• Scrap dealers to lift the recyclable waste.
• Ward-level committees educate people on segregation of organic and inorganic waste.