Nagpur: City-based CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (
Neeri) is all set to provide technical support to the Punjab government in solid waste management and sewage treatment.
As per a recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two, Neeri will be using a combination of technologies for completely clearing out “over 6 million tonnes” of municipal solid waste which is said to be lying in the dumping ground at Amritsar for more than 30-35 years.
Recently, the Supreme Court had lashed out at the centre for “not doing enough work on solid waste management”. While hearing a petition last month, the apex court gave the government a time of three weeks to file a chart showing which states and union territories (UTs) have constituted state-level advisory boards, as required by the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
Neeri director Rakesh Kumar said that using mining and other technologies, the waste would be segregated in a way that some materials can be reused. “Plastic waste can be converted into RDF and used at cement plants, silt can be used for making tiles or bricks,” said Kumar.
Apart from this, Neeri will be implementing in situ drain cleaning technology for reviving 2.2 kilometres-long Tung Dhab drain in Amritsar, which is also known as the Hudiara drain. Since many years, the drain has been highly polluted. Around three years back, Amritsar-based Pollution Control Committee (PCC), an NGO working in the field of environment, had taken up the case of pollution in Tung Dhab Drain with the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
According to Kumar, technologies like flo-raft and nano bubble diffuser system will be used to clean the drain. “It would be converted into a system where silt, Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) in water will be reduced,” he said.
The pilot experiment of in situ cleaning technology will be carried out in Nagpur.
Both the projects are a part of Amritsar’s Smart City project. “As per the agreement, we will take about nine months to complete the drain cleaning and two years for the dumping ground,” said Kumar.
In October 2016, the Maharashtra government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Neeri under the Swachh Maharashtra initiative according to which the institute has to provide technical guidance on various developmental aspects of smart cities including solid waste management, sanitation, urban planning, health, water supply and sewage treatment.
