NEW DELHI: Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, while addressing the gathering during the Swachh Shehar Samvad and Technology Exhibition, said that 16 crore metric tonnes (MT) of legacy waste, taking up 15,000 acres of prime land, will be remediated within the mission period. The Samvad is a capacity-building initiative launched under the Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0.
Puri was tracing the journey of India towards becoming an Open Defecation Free (ODF) country. He said that the Prime Minister of India launched the Swachh Bharat Mission from Red fort on August 15, 2014, and highlighted the need to achieve the ODF status by October 2019, which was also the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
He added that the relentless effort from all the 4,372 urban local bodies (ULBs) in India has resulted in the achievement of ODF status. He said that the government has constructed around 73.45 lakh individual as well as community toilets, thus restoring the dignity and preserving the health of millions of urban poor.
While addressing the issue of waste management Puri said that the waste processing capacity of ULBs in India, which was at a mere 18 per cent in 2014, is at 73 per cent in 2022, and we are working to increase it to 100 per cent. Apart from this, the minister also delved into the importance of the concept of ‘Waste to Wealth’ for a circular economy to make the country a ‘Garbage-Free India’. Puri also spoke about the ‘Lakshya Zero Dumpsite Challenge’ and said that the legacy waste of 16 metric tonnes that is taking up 15,000 acres of prime land will be remediated within the Mission period that is by 2026.