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Waste processing in Chandigarh will start at full capacity from Dec 1: MC chief Anindita Mitra
Contrary to the City Beautiful’s image, its waste disposal and management system has been in the doldrums for years on. A dysfunctional waste processing plant, slow progress in legacy mining and shoddy implementation of segregation at source have all contributed to its poor performance in Swachh Survekshan over the last few years. Hindustan Times Correspondent Hillary Victor talks to municipal commissioner Anindita Mitra on steps being taken to improve the situation.
Q: The garbage processing plant has been shut since 2016. How long will it take to get it operational?
A: We have overhauled and upgraded the entire machinery and will start processing the waste at full capacity from December 1.
Q: The recently released United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report cited garbage collection and disposal as the main challenges for city residents. Do you have any immediate plans to redress this issue?
A: We appreciate the residents’ feedback. When we started monitoring garbage collection last year, we found that our vehicles were skipping a number of collection points. So we started monitoring it through Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC), which brought down the missed stoppages by 90%. We are mulling on a radio-frequency identification (RFID)-based system to improve garbage collection.
Q: Though the MC claims to have turned garbage collection into a high-tech process by making employees wear GPS-based smart watches, residents complain of irregular door-to-door collection. Your take on it?
A: We have already given instructions to the officials to ensure that there are no complaints of irregular door-to-door collection. We also want people to cooperate with us and segregate waste at source.
Q: What steps are being taken to improve city’s Swachh Survekshan ranking?
A: We are taking every possible step not only to improve the city’s Swachh rankings, but also to improve the service. Waste processing was one segment where we were losing a lot of marks but now we have started 100% processing of sanitary, domestic and hazardous waste. From November 28, we will also start 100% processing of horticulture waste. To cover the gap between generation and processing of wet waste, we are increasing our composting capacity by building new sheds, which will be operational by March. Tenders for the new integrated solid waste management plant shall be floated next month, which will take care of the needs of the city for the next 25 years. We are also working towards improving waste segregation and promoting home composting.
Q: The Dadumajra landfill has become a blot of City Beautiful. How long will it take to process the legacy waste?
A: The first dump site of Dadumajra will be clear in the next couple of months while the second will be cleared in a year’s time. However, the intention and plan is to ensure that another dump does not come up in the city and that 100% waste is processed on a daily basis.
