Managing waste in areas merged with Solan MC a challenge

Ambika Sharma
Tribune News Service
Solan, December 2

Solid waste management in the rural areas merged with the newly created Solan Municipal Corporation will be a major challenge for the authorities concerned. Despite several efforts, the authorities are yet to set up this plant even in Solan town, which has a population of 39,256.

A population of 8,162 has now been added from eight panchayats to the existing population of the Solan municipal council and it has been upgraded to a municipal corporation having a population of 47,418. These panchayats are Anji, Kothon, Chambaghat, Saproon, Padag, Basal, Salogra and Kather.

Setting up a plant is the key necessity as the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed all civic bodies to comply with the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, which require scientific management of waste. Despite this, the authorities here have failed to set up a plant. Though an agreement was signed with a private entrepreneur to set up a plant some months ago, it failed to materialise.

The state Pollution Control Board had imposed an environmental compensation of Rs 1.80 lakh on the Solan civic body in

July for its failure to undertake scientific disposal of solid waste. Now, with more areas having come under its ambit, the authorities are facing a bigger challenge. Efforts to set up a plant in the rural areas earlier, where waste could be transported from Solan town, had failed following objections from the residents.

Since civic bodies lack the technical know-how to set up such plants, officials say that a technical cell should be set up in the Directorate of Urban Development to guide them. This could speed up the establishment of such plants, as required according to the NGT directions.

Shrawan Kumar, Regional Officer, State Pollution Control Board, said that efforts were being made to seek the cooperation of all departments to set up a solid waste management plant at Salogra where ample land is available. He added that the segregation of waste was already being done at Salogra and incinerable waste was being sent to Ambuja Cement’s plant at Darlaghat.