Union Minister of state for urban development Saugata Roy said an integrated solid waste management project at an estimated cost of Rs 29.85 crore has been approved by his ministry under the UIG component of JnNURM.
He was speaking at the inauguration of third international conference on solid waste management ICONSWM-2012 at the N R Narayana Murthy Centre of Excellence here on Monday.
Roy said, under JnNURM, 45 solid waste management projects at an estimated cost of Rs 2086 crore and 70 projects at a cost of Rs 409 crore have been approved so far under UIG and UIDSSMT components of JnNURM.
Mentioning that per capita waste generation is increasing by 1.3 per cent per year, he said urban local bodies spend 60-70 per cent of total expenditure on street sweeping, 20-30 per cent on transportation and less than 5 per cent on final disposal of waste, which shows that no attention is given to scientific disposal of waste.
Challenges
Challenges in municipal solid waste management include absence of segregation at source, lack of funds, unwillingness of urban local bodies to introduce solid waste management charges and lack of community participation.
He said organic fraction of municipal solid waste contains bio-degradable matter ranging from 30 to 55 per cent, which can be profitably converted into useful products like compost and methane gas.
Discussing the way forward, he said involvement of public towards clean city needs to be increased. Public private partnership (PPP) option must be actively pursued and introduced for functions such as door-to-door collection, street sweeping, transportation, treatment and disposal.
He said there is a need for pro-active waste management approach in the country. However, technology transfer from developed nations need to be tailored for local conditions.
Awardees
Awards were presented for excellence in solid waste management in three categories at ICONSWM-2012.
Municipal
* Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
* Pune Municipal Corporation
* Delhi Municipal Corporation
* Ooty Municipality
* Srinagar Municipality
* Kalimpong Municipality
Temples
* Tirupati Tirumala Devasthana
* Kadri Sri Manjunatha Swamy Temple Industries
Industries
* Infosys
* Jubilant Lifesciences
* Federal Mugul Goetz
* TVS Motors
* NSL Sugars