A seminar on solid waste management was held at the conference room of the Office of the Divisional Railway Manager , Raipur division here on Friday.
The key speaker at the seminar was Dr B Sengupta from Kolkata who in his address said that the waste disposal can be managed with the concept of ‘Reuse-Recycle-Restore-Replenish'.
He said that if the waste can be segregated as 'degradable' and 'non degradable' then the former can be utilised to make organic manure and the latter can be reused to make useful products.
Notably, on the other hand, Chhattisgarh has ‘waste to energy’ power generation potential of 24 MW as per the assessment made in the 2014-15 annual report of Union Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE).
As per the report, renewable energy has been witnessing over 20 per cent growth during last five years in the country. From the total renewable power installed capacity of 14,400 MW at the beginning of 2009, it has reached a capacity of 33,791 MW at the end of December 2014, it stated.
Wind energy continues to dominate India’s renewable energy industry accounting for over 66 % of installed capacity (22,465 MW), followed by biomass power (4,165 MW), small hydro power (3,991 MW), solar power (3,063 MW) and Urban & Industrial Waste 107.5 MW. In terms of electricity generation, the renewable power installed capacity is generating around 70 billion units per year, the report pointed out.
Incidentally, the processing of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) on a cluster basis while adopting 'Waste to Energy Technology' for three cities would soon be implemented in Chhattisgarh.
The project is proposed to be undertaken through public- private participation (PPP) model on a Design, Finance, Build , Operate and Transfer (DFBOT) basis, officials stated.
Initially, the Raipur, Bhilai and Durg municipal corporations have been chosen for the project, officials informed.
The State Urban Development Agency (SUDA) would be implementing the project.
The municipal corporations of Raipur, Bhilai and Durg would be involved in collection, segregation, storage, processing and disposal of municipal solid waste in Chhattisgarh.
The MSW would be governed by rules promulgated under the Environment Protection Act 1986. These rules require scientific processing and disposal of entire MSW generated in the cities.
The approximate quantity of MSW to be generated in the three cities is as follows — Raipur 450 tonnes per day ( TPD), Bhilai 220 TPD and Durg 130 TPD totalling 800 TPD.
The project would be implemented in the identified municipal land to be leased by the respective municipal corporations.
The selected operator would have to design, finance, build, operate and maintain the project for 25 years.
Notably, the Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board (CECB) has already ordered the officers of local bodies to strictly ban the burning of plastic and solid waste in public places in the entire State.
In a circular to all the officers of the local bodies, the Board said as per the order of year 2000, the burning of solid and plastic waste in the open are banned and is against law.
The circular said that it has come to the notice of the Board that the plastic waste was being burnt in the open, thus polluting the air in the vicinity. It is a clear case of violation of law, it stated.
Stern action should be taken to prevent burning of solid waste material in the open. If any local body ignores the order then law will take its own course, the CECB stated in the circular.
It is pertinent to mention that the State government has banned use of polythene carry bags from January 1. Since then, RMC officials are conducting inspections and collecting polythene bags from different parts of the city.
It is noteworthy that State Government has constituted State-level Advisory Committee for monitoring the implementation of provisions of notification released by Union Ministry of Forest and Environment New Delhi in the year 2011, regarding proper disposal of
waste plastic.
This Committee has been formed by Urban Administration and Development Department. Principal Secretary of Urban Administration Department is the Chairman of this committee.
There is a provision of including one expert from each of Environment Department, Environment Conservation Department, local Urban Body, NGO, one from industrial area and one expert from education field, as members of the committee.
Director of Urban Administration and Development Department is the Member Secretary of this committee.