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Waste segregation project in two towns soon

The pilot project will set the ball rolling for implementation of similar projects in all major towns.

Waste segregation project in two towns soon


Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 5

The Urban Development Department will launch a project for advanced segregation of waste in Dharamsala and Sundernagar by involving residents and rag pickers and ensuring livelihood avenues for them.

The pilot project, to be implemented in the two towns with assistance from the Netherlands, will set the ball rolling for implementation of similar projects in all major towns of the state. The consultancy for undertaking feasibility study of the project has been entrusted to an international firm for Rs 40 lakh.

“We have finalised the project at a meeting held with the Union Urban Development Secretary, in the presence of the Ambassador of the Netherlands last month,” confirmed JM Pathania, Director, Urban Development.

He said this was being done on a pilot basis in the two towns, which would be extended to the entire state by inviting global bids and taking them up under public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

To make the project meet international norms for advanced segregation of waste, underground waste bins will be fixed. “To ensure that no person has to walk much to dispose of garbage, waste bins will be placed at a distance of every 100 mt and the sites have already been selected through GIS mapping,” said Pathania. Similar exercise will be undertaken in Dharamsala as well so that the project is a complete success and the town is free of garbage, he added.

One very interesting aspect of the project will be involvement of rag pickers, who normally rummage through bins. “Their involvement will not only ensure that there is proper disposal and segregation of non-biodegradable waste but will also provide them livelihood under National Urban Livelihood Mission Programme,” he said. Recycling of waste for various other benefits like compost, CNG and land fill will also be part of the project, Pathania added.

Another very important component of the project is sensitisation and involvement of the community through capacity building. Voluntary organisations are being roped in to help educate the community and in Sundernagar the volunteers are already contacting residents.

Even though the state has launched several projects to ensure proper disposal of waste but segregation of waste is still not being done. Efforts by the Shimla Municipal Corporation for ensuring segregation by providing two separate bins for degradable and non-degradable waste also did not yield the desired results. Door-to-door garbage collection scheme has to a great extent been implemented in the state capital but segregation is still not being done as the community is yet to be sensitised.

 

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