Ladakh makes good progress in creating facility
Asks Govt to ensure timely implementation of guidelines
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Feb 7: The Parliament’s Standing Committee on Water Resources has pointed out that only 3 out of 285 total blocks in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir have Plastic Waste Management Units although much thrust has been laid on this aspect in the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase-II operational guidelines. However, Union Territory of Ladakh has made substantial progress in creating this facility.
In its 21st report, the Standing Committee on Water Resources had mentioned that one of the objectives of Phase-II of SBM(G) is to make villages ‘visually clean’ by ensuring minimal littering, minimal stagnation of water and no accumulation of plastic waste in the form of a dump.
To fulfill this objective, Gram Panchayats (GPs) have been assigned the task of arrangement for door-to-door collection of plastic waste along with other waste, segregation & storage of plastic waste at the common village shed constructed/available in the village, selling recyclable plastic waste to vendors and sending remaining plastic waste to the block level Plastic Waste Management Units (PWMUs), the Committee had further stated.
In view of the growing menace of plastic wastes which create environmental hazards and also gives filthy look in the form of heaps, the Committee had recommended for expediting establishments of Plastic Waste Management Units in all the blocks in the States and Union Territories to realize the objective of visually clean villages.
In the Action Taken Report (ATR) submitted to the Standing Committee, the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation of the Ministry of Jal Shakti has admitted that as per the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase-II operational guideline, there must be one Plastic Waste Management Unit in each block, if clustering is not possible.
“This was again reiterated during the Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) meeting for all States and UTs to have Plastic Waste Management Units at the blocks levels. In AIP of FY 2023-24, States and UTs have planned to setup Plastic Waste Management Units/linkages of blocks with urban facilities in large number of blocks”, the Department has mentioned in the ATR.
However, the Standing Committee, in its latest report submitted to the Parliament few days back, has expressed concern over slow progress in equipping blocks with Plastic Waste Management Unit or linking with Urban Plastic Waste Management facilities.
In respect of Jammu and Kashmir, the Committee has pointed out that only three out of 285 blocks have been equipped with Plastic Waste Management Unit, adding “since plastic waste is a serious threat to the environment with a great potential to risk public health, we should be apprised of the reasons for slow progress in installing units and the steps taken by the department to impress upon the States and UTs the need to set up and operationalise units expeditiously”.
However, the Standing Committee has noted that substantial progress has been made in creating Plastic Waste Management facility in Union Territory of Ladakh. In Ladakh, 15 out of total 31 blocks have Plastic Waste Management Units.
As per the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase-II operational guidelines, segregation, collection, storage and transportation of plastic waste and channelization of recyclable plastic waste fraction to recyclers having valid registration should be carried out in such a manner that no damage is caused to the environment.
Moreover, much thrust has been laid on awareness generation among all stakeholders about their responsibilities, prevention of open burning of plastic waste and establishment of Plastic Waste Management Unit in each block.
It is pertinent to mention here that Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase-II operational guidelines were approved by the Government of India in February 2020 to focus on sustainability of Open Defecation Free (ODF) status and solid and liquid waste management.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
