OdishaPlus Bureau
Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi on Wednesday directed the urban local bodies (ULBs) to be solid waste management (SWM) compliant. Padhi’s direction came during a video conferencing with Collectors of all districts.
Six identified model cities and towns were asked to be fully compliant by September 25, 2019, and the other towns by March next year. The Chief Secretary directed the Collectors to complete preparation of District Survey Reports (DSR) of their respective districts to seek permission for drawing minor minerals.
Director Environment Dr K. Mrugesan said, “DSR is mandatory to grant permission for mining of the minor minerals like stone, sand, and morum” while Development Commissioner Asit Kumar Tripathy said that the Collectors should prioritize the completion of DSR and send it to Government at the earliest as these materials are inevitable for construction and infrastructure development works.
The Collectors were also asked to form the District Environment Committee and prepare the District Environment Action Plan as per directives of the National Green Tribunal.
Additional Chief Secretary Forest & Environment Suresh Mohapatra said the district environment plan should include all information regarding water bodies, solid waste management, green coverage, groundwater recharge
.Bhubaneswar, Berhampur, Rourkela, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, and Chhatrapur have been identified as model cities. Principal Secretary G Mathivathanan appraised that detail guideline and SOP for solid waste management have been sent to all ULBs.
These include assessment of human resources, engagement of Swachha Sathis and Supervisors, identification of suitable land for the establishment of micro composting units ( MCCs), preparation of route chart for movement of vehicles. segregation of bio-degradable waste, composting process, disposal of dry waste, identification of bulk waste generators, IEC among the people and timeline for completion of different works.
Models plan and estimate for including technical details for the preparation of MCCs and TPDs. So far 1,453 bulk waste generators have been identified and 447 Swachh Sathis have been engaged.
Similarly, 231 sites have been identified for construction of MCCS which will serve 7.13 lakh households in 1,458 wards.