Jammu: To mitigate the issues related to the unscientific disposal of municipal solid waste in Jammu city, the Administrative Council (AC), which met here Saturday under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, approved the establishment of an Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) project by National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED).
To implement the project, the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) will sign an agreement with NAFED to set up a 350 MT capacity ISWM plant along with an ancillary bio-CNG generating plant and bio-landfill at Kot Bhalwal, Jammu.
At the estimated project cost of Rs. 74.41 crore and project timeline of 2 years, NAFED will establish a scientific system for waste segregation, processing, and disposal of effluents, emissions, and bio-degradable waste according to the norms of the J&K Pollution Control Board. As per the terms of the agreement, JMC will contribute Rs. 20 crore towards project execution, and will have a share in 50% profit on returns above 20% of equity investment.
Pertinently, NAFED – an apex organization under the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, having substantial experience in the management of bio-waste will manage the entire solid waste of Jammu city through the proposed ISWM project for a period of 25 years.
Once operational, the project will check the polluting effect of unscientific disposal of municipal solid waste in water bodies, canals, and landfills, and ensure its sustainable and scientific disposal, besides generating non-conventional renewable energy in the form of Compressed Natural Gas.
