WEST BENGAL: The Central government has approved a project proposal to recycle waste stored in dumping yards of two hill towns of Darjeeling and Kalimpong in West Bengal into utility products like bricks and flower pots.
In a statement on March 21, Darjeeling MP Raju Bista said that the initiative aims to mechanise landfills with cutting-edge technology, such as legacy (accumulated) trash segregation, plastic waste recycling, use of building and demolition waste, and processing of biodegradable garbage.
The BJP national spokesperson stated, "The segregated garbage would be processed further and converted into various utilities such as organic waste into vermicompost, plastic waste into flower pots, and building waste into bricks. He asserted that mechanised waste segregation will reduce health risks to workers at municipal disposal sites and boost efficacy in trash segregation.
Integrated Scientific Solutions for Enhancing Legacy Municipal Solid Waste Management in the Indian Himalayan region is the project proposal that Bista claimed he had sent to Environment Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupendra Yadav on January 30 to request clearance for.
The young Gorkha scientist Rakshak Kumar Acharya of the CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technologies at Palampur in Himachal Pradesh drafted the project ideas for the municipalities of Darjeeling and Kalimpong, according to the MP.
Bista mentioned he reached out to the chairman of the 2 civic bodies to support the project and both responded positively.
The National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS) steering committee approved a pre-feasibility study with one site demonstration (Darjeeling) in one year and a budget of Rs. 1.49 crore, Yadav wrote to Mr. Bista in response to his letter on March 14.
The Central and State governments will be inspired to implement the initiative throughout all municipalities in our Himalayan region, he said, "I am convinced that the success of this project will encourage them."
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