To administer the functioning of all proposed eight solid waste management clusters in the State, Punjab Government on Tuesday formed an exclusive Solid Waste Management Authority while fixing December 2015 as deadline for completion of the Statewide project.
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, presiding over a review meeting of solid waste management project, was accompanied by local Government Minister Anil Joshi and Revenue Minister. Bikram Singh Majithia, finalised green cover norms besides giving nod to engage sufficient manpower to expedite the project.
He asked local Government Secretary and Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company (PMIDC) chief executive officer (CEO) to ensure mandatory and adequate green cover norms. “Boundary walls of dumping sites should not be less than 15-feet along with green belts both inside and outside the sites,” he said.
Sukhbir also directed the authorities to implement and initiate project in given time frame as this unique and prestigious project would also be further implemented in villages too. He asked the local Government Department to expedite work in all eight clusters where in 137 urban local bodies would lift 4065 tonnes of garbage daily by ensuring well-mannered door-to-door collection.
A centralised payment mechanism has also bee finalized at the cluster level, from where the payments would be drawn from dedicated fund.
Sukhbir issued strict directions to maintain cleanliness, green cover norms, dress code, covered vehicles and rickshaws in which garbage to be lifted and their scientifically land filling.