Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi on Saturday sought a concrete action plan on waste management from local bodies as part of a broader effort towards holistic rural development and creation of smart villages.
Ms. Bedi, who convened a meeting with commune panchayat commissioners at the Raj Nivas, asked the Commune Commissioners to identify lands for establishing decentralised recycling dumpyard.
In order to meet the recurring cost for source segregation of waste, the Commissioners were asked out to carry out a proper study of their budget and look out for avenues for augmenting their revenue. The Commune Commissioners were also asked to look for alternative use of idle assets.
The Director of Local Administration and Project Director, District Rural Development Agency, would work in coordination for finalising the effective use of assigned funds and help put in place a waste management mechanism for collection and disposal of segregated waste.
Ms. Bedi said that at the next convergence meet on July 14, each Commune Commissioner will give a composite picture of the budget of his commune, a village plan for solid waste management along with re-distribution of personnel for effective delivery of services and resource mobilisation.
She also assured the local body chiefs of government support for strengthening the functioning of commune panchayats to achieve holistic rural development.
Rudra Gowd, project director, DRDA, gave an overview of liquid waste management.
The Director of Local Administration, G. Malarkannan, shared the experience of challenge faced in dousing the fire that kept emanating from the dump at Bahour situated next to INOX factory that was manufacturing liquid oxygen for around 80 hospitals meant for patients admitted in ICUs. He stressed the necessity of decentralised dumps in rural areas.