HP and Goa are processing highest amount of municipal solid waste

NEW DELHI: Kaushal Kishore, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, told the Parliament during the ongoing Monsoon session that Himachal Pradesh and Goa are the two states in the country which process almost 98 per cent of their municipal solid waste through scientific methods. Punjab processes 76 per cent and Haryana 53 per cent which is lower than the national average of 68 per cent.

Himachal Pradesh generates 377 metric tonnes per day (MT/D) of municipal solid waste whereas Goa produces 250 MT/D and Haryana 5,463 MT/D. Chandigarh processes 92 per cent of the total 499 MT/D of municipal solid waste, the minister added. Kishore also said that out of the total 1,40,980 tonnes per day (TPD) of municipal solid waste, the country processes 68 per cent, scientifically.

Kishore, in his address, said that 4,372 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in the country are already practicing scientific disposal of municipal solid waste in line with Municipal Solid Waste Rules, 2016. He added that out of the total 8,883 municipal wards, 97 per cent practice door-to-door collection of waste and 81 per cent of them indulge in 100 per cent source segregation of waste.

Kishore also said that as part of Swacch Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U), the Government of India has released 35 per cent of the total approved cost of solid waste management projects. These funds are further transferred by the states and union territories to the respective ULBs after adding the state share.

Talking about the abolition of manual scavenging, the minister said that the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, has identified manual scavengers and they and their dependants are provided various benefits for rehabilitation. They are also provided one-time cash assistance of Rs 40,000 to one identified scavenger in the family. Skill development is also provided to the identified beneficiaries and their dependants with the stipend of Rs 3000 per month.