Chandigarh, March 15
The legacy waste in 16 major towns of Punjab with over 1 lakh population will now be bio-remediated. For this purpose, a comprehensive project worth Rs 475.06 crore has been approved.
A detailed project report (DPR) to this effect was given a final nod at the high-powered committee (HPC), headed by the Chief Secretary, Ms Vini Mahajan, here today.
Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Bathinda, Mohali, Moga, Patiala, Khanna, Hoshiarpur, Malerkotla, Abohar, Batala, Pathankot, Barnala, Muktsar and Ferozepur were the municipal towns covered under the project. These 16 cities have generated around 55.92 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of legacy waste.
Under the approved DPR, the legacy waste will be disposed of at a cost of Rs 800 to Rs 885 MT.
Giving further details, Principal Secretary Local Government A K Sinha apprised that the state will seek to ensure complete fecal sludge management (FSM) and waste water management (WWM) for cities with over 1 lakh population, besides ensuring complete solid waste management for all cities covering legacy dumpsite remediation, material recovery facilities (MRFs) and construction & demolition waste processing.
Ms Mahajan asked the Housing and Urban Development department to ensure the compliance of solid waste management in urban estates and approved colonies, which have not yet been handed over to the concerned civic bodies.
She also directed the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) to prepare an action plan regarding sludge management and submit it to the Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Board (PWSSB) to get it finalised.
Notably, the state has already achieved almost 100 per cent door-to-door collection and segregation of municipal solid waste, besides preparing 14 district environment plans to address the problem of pollution.
Principal Secretary Water Resources Sarvjit Singh, Principal Secretary Finance, Food and Civil Supplies KAP Sinha, PMIDC CEO Ajoy Kumar Sharma, Director Local Government Puneet Goyal and Project Director SBM Pooran Singh and other senior officials attended the meeting.
