Policy for waste management facilities under consideration: Minister

The state government is considering a proposed Policy for Solid Waste Management Facilities in Rural Areas, 2024, said Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Sigh while replying to a question asked by Kasauli MLA Vinod Sultanpuri in the Vidhan Sabha here today.

Sultanpuri raised the issue of proper disposal of wet waste in the state up to the panchayat level, including disposal of plastic waste such as shampoo bottles and chips packets. The minister informed the House that “of the total 14,73,352 households in the state, 593,625 are managing their waste by feeding cattle, 319,027 through community compost pits and 126,673 households through individual compost pits. The remaining 4,34,027 households are in the process of being assessed for appropriate wet waste management solutions. Based on this assessment and the availability of funds from the Centre, additional community and individual compost pits will be constructed.”

The minister said that the proposed Policy for Solid Waste Management Facilities in Rural Areas, 2024, would provide a clear framework for panchayats to implement waste segregation, collection and processing measures, as per the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, and the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016.

He added that to ensure scientific disposal of non-recyclable plastic waste, the government had recently signed an MoU with Ambuja Cement Ltd, Darlaghat; UltraTech Cement Ltd, Baga; ACC Cement Ltd, Darlaghat; and the Healing Himalayas Foundation to facilitate co-processing of plastic waste in cement kilns and other sustainable disposal mechanisms.

To a question asked by Nachan MLA Vinod Kumar on the status of Atal Adarsh Vidyalayas, Education Minister Rohit Thakur said that though administrative approval for 28 schools had been granted, the work had been started only on three schools located in the Dharampur, Nachan and Kutlehar Assembly segments. The school at Dharampur was complete while 65 per cent work had been done in the school at Nachan and 25 per cent work completed in the school at Kutlehar.

To a question asked by Shahpur MLA Kewal Singh Pathania, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that at present, 184 hydroelectric projects were 0functioning in the state and the government was getting 893.58 MW of free power as royalty from them.

1,471 drugs samples failed quality test

• As many as 1,471 samples of drugs manufactured in Himachal Pradesh have failed quality tests over the past two years till February 25 and legal action has been initiated against six firms, said Health and Family Welfare Minister Dhani Ram Shandil during the Question Hour in the Assembly on Wednesday.
• Of these samples found substandard, 33 were manufactured by firms in Kangra, 302 in Sirmaur, 1,190 in Solan, and 46 in Una, the minister informed the Vidhan Sabha while responding to a question asked by Shahpur MLA Kewal Singh Pathania.
• Actions such as suspension of product permissions for up to six months, issuance of show-cause notices, cancellation or surrender of licenses, and product seizures have been taken against erring pharma units, he said, adding investigations were underway in some cases. — PTI