Reuse, reduce, recycle: Surat’s swachhata mantra

SURAT: The Diamond City saw a sparkling improvement in its cleanliness ranking, becoming India’s second cleanest city after Indore, in the fifth edition of Swachh Survekshan (country-wide sanitation survey) that was released by the union housing and urban affairs ministry on Friday.
Surat improved from a distant 14 last year to number 2 and officials attributed this boost to capping of Khajod landfill site which has now been converted into sprawling green land mass and massive increase in recycling of solid and liquid waste.

“We worked with a mantra of three Rs’ - reuse, reduce and recycle in waste management,” said Banchhanidhi Pani, municipal commissioner, Surat.
In February, SMC officially closed the solid waste landfill site near the world's largest Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) at Khajod and it is now covered with lush green lawns. The site was spread over 60 hectare land and SMC had stopped dumping solid waste since 2014. However, it needed to be capped and the waste disposed of scientifically for which the civic body spent Rs 60 crore.
The capping work started about a year-and-a-half ago by adhering to solid waste management rules. Out of the 60 hectare, SMC fully reclaimed 30 hectare land and this open space is now an ecological park.
"This is a proud moment for all citizens of Surat who have contributed in making the city clean. Under the Swachh Bharat Mission, SMC’s solid waste management system focuses on collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of 1,800 metric tonnes of solid waste everyday,'' Pani said.
Under the Samvendna initiative, food waste collected from rich people is given to those in need, which serves the dual purpose of help and reducing kitchen waste.
Moreover, SMC is earning from waste water by recycling it and selling it to industry. "In order to recycle and reuse the city's waste water, the tertiary sewage treatment plant at Bamroli supplies industrial grade water to Pandesara estate. An estimated Rs.140 crore revenue is generated for the SMC every year. The project saves drinking water being used for industrial purposes as well,'' Pani added.