Govt yet to start solid waste processing in 9 towns

Even after getting approval of the Centre for solid waste management projects in nine major towns of the state two years back...

Even after getting approval of the Centre for solid waste management projects in nine major towns of the state two years back,the UP Government has yet to start the processing of solid waste in these towns. In 2008,the Union Government had approved solid waste management projects for nine towns of UP Varanasi,Allahabad,Jhansi,Mathura,Aligarh,Meerut,Lucknow,Moradabad and Gorakhpur. The state government had to start door-to-collection of waste and its disposal in these towns by March 2009.

After directions were given by Chief Minister Mayawati,door-to-door collections started in these towns in May. But the development of processing plant and landfill sites is at a very initial stage in five towns Allahabad,Jhansi,Mathura,Aligarh and Moradabad. In the other four town ¿ Meerut,Gorakhpur,Varanasi and Lucknow the project has been delayed due to the unavailability of land. Jal Nigam sources said that the land required for the project has yet to be earmarked in Varanasi while land acquisition is still under process in Meerut and Gorakhpur.

In Lucknow,88 acres of land have been earmarked in Dashehari village but has not been handed over to the Jal Nigam yet due to objections from local villagers. Officials said that the award of compensation is underway in Lucknow and Gorakhpur. After getting possession of the land,the private firm will take at least eight months to complete the installation of the processing plant and develop the landfill site. That means the project is going to be delayed in these towns by a further eight months, said a Jal Nigam official.

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The installation of the project set-up had to be completed in all these town by March 2009 but was delayed. In most of the cities,work has started at the project sites. In other cities,land acquisitionnn is under process, said UP Jal Nigam Managing Director A K Srivastava.

A2Z has been selected to execute the project in Moradabad,Aligarh,Meerut and Varanasi and Jyoti Enviro-Tech Private Limited in Lucknow. While Subhash Projects and Marketing have been chosen for Mathura and Allahabad,APR projects will carry out the project in Gorakhpur and Jhansi.

In Lucknow the municipal corporation has yet to sign the project agreement with the Jal Nigam and the private firm. In the other cities,the agreement has already been signed by all three parties. Sources said that in Allahabad and Mathura,the private firm has so far submitted only the design of the project areas boundary wall and no work has been started at the project site. The Jal Nigam issued a notice to the firm on July 5 to expedite the work. Similar is the progress in Jhansi.

The construction of the boundary wall at the project site has been started in Aligarh. In Moradabad the development of the site office,store room and boundary wall started last month. Sources said that now the state government is keen to expedite work on the project in these cities because if the project is not started in current financial year and the amount released by the Centre is left unutilised,it may later take the money back and stop further release of grants.

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