Ahmedabad’s waste ‘mis’-management secures it 15th rank, many factors in play
Updated: Jan 13th, 2024
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| Dumpyard (representational image: IANS) |
The ‘Swachh Survekshan Awards 2023’ were conferred on the cities for their cleanliness standards by the union ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) on Jan 11.
Ahmedabad ended up on the 15th rank in the list of cities with a population of more than one lakh, an advancement of three ranks from the previous survey.
However, a scrutiny over Ahmedabad’s waste management in 2023 accounts for the city’s sub-par performance in the survey.
Why Ahmedabad lost marks in cleanliness survey?
The city registers a daily waste of 4,000 metric tonnes, which is collected by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) from its 48 wards through methods like door-to-door and spot-to-dumping sites, which are in the Pirana area.
AMC allotted land at the Pirana dumping site to two different companies, Abellon and Jindal Urban Waste Management Ltd, to set up waste processing plants to clear the site years ago.
However, the plants, failing to commence operations on time, played a major role in Ahmedabad losing marks in the cleanliness survey and ending up in the 15th position.
Ahmedabad pushes to be a cleaner city
To make Ahmedabad a ‘zero waste city’, a MoU (memorandum of understanding) was signed by an agency on Jan 11 with AMC’s Solid Waste Management department at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024 to set up a plant at a cost of ₹200 cr to process 500 tonnes of solid waste produced into bio-CNG and biofertilizer.
At the Pirana dump site, 40 acres out of the total 85 acres of land have been processed and cleared of solid waste so far by trommel machines of various capacities.
Another three agencies will also set up plants for processing 100% solid waste into coal, steam, and dung. MoUs worth a total of ₹414 cr has been signed by agencies for solid waste processing at the Vibrant Summit with the AMC.
