Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : Underlining the importance of solid waste management for ensuring a clean Urban India over the next two years, Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs (HUA) Hardeep Singh Puri will reach out to all the Residential Welfare Associations (RWAs) in the national capital urging them to ensure segregation of municipal waste at the source of its generation.
Puri on September 17, 2017, participated in the ‘Swacchata Hi Sewa’ campaign wielding broom at the Sarojini Nagar Market in the NDMC area. Later, speaking to senior officials of his ministry and NDMC, representatives of Market Association, general public and sanitation workers, he expressed his serious concern over the garbage issue in Delhi.
Puri, according to a PIB release, said “Toilet building is much easier but solid waste management is the real challenge to ensure a clean Urban India by 2019. As against the target of building 66 lakh individual household toilets in urban areas, about 37 lakh units have already been built. With 56% of the mission target already met, this exercise is on course. About 65 million tons of solid waste is generated per year in cities and towns of the country and this is the real challenge. Solid waste processing has reached about one quarter of the generation. Current efforts to ensure processing of total solid waste will be successful if only segregation of waste at source is ensured as this is necessary for the success of further chain of making compost and power from municipal waste. I would like to reach out to all RWAs in Delhi by writing to them in all the 11 districts to do needful to ensure such segregation. At present, only half of the waste generated in Delhi is being processed and this is a matter of concern.”
Puri said that his Ministry had earlier this week approved a Rs 300 crotr action plan for procuring modern equipment and systems for making a visible impact on solid waste management by which 670 ton per day waste processing capacity would be created by the end of December this year. He said that Swachh Bharat Mission is one of the foremost of transformative initiatives launched by the government headed by PM Narendra Modi and this mission is more about behavioral modification. Stating that as early as in 1916, Mahatma Gandhi accorded priority for sanitation even over political freedom, Puri noted that spirited efforts have been unleashed by the Prime Minister to ensure Swachh Bharat. The Minister also went around the Sarojini Nagar Market area.