By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 10: The World Bank’s senior development specialist, Thierry Martin on Wednesday said it should not be a problem for Shillong to regain its reputation as the Scotland of the East.
Martin, a member of the World Bank delegation to assist the KHADC with its solid waste management programme, said Shillong can regain its past glory as a green and clean city.
“We do not see why it should be a problem for this beautiful city to regain its cleanliness,” he told reporters during the inspection of the Umkhen River and the Marten dumping ground.
The KHADC’s chief executive member, Pyniaid Sing Syiem said the council is committed to making the city clean again with the support of every stakeholder.
“Our priority at the moment is to prepare a comprehensive action plan and come up with stringent rules to deal with the problem of haphazard dumping of garbage by people,” he said.
He said the council has decided to sanction Rs 50 lakh to set up a resource recovery centre at Mawlai Mawroh. “We will be setting up similar infrastructures in other areas,” Syiem said.
Stressing the importance of the segregation of waste from the source, he said there should not be another Marten.
“I would also not like to see our rivers face a fate similar to that of the Umkhrah and Umshyrpi. We are committed to preserving our water bodies and rivers,” the KHADC chief said.
The KHADC has been working on a permanent solution to the problem of solid waste management in the areas within its jurisdiction. It is keen on partnering with the World Bank to fund its solid waste management programme to be implemented in the five districts under its jurisdiction.
Syiem said the council is planning to conduct awareness programmes in all the localities and villages apart from the schools and colleges on how to deal with the problem of solid waste management. The programmes would be in collaboration with the traditional institutions, he added.
Stating that the World Bank officials indicated they are ready to provide the funds, Syiem said the KHADC would need to prepare a comprehensive action plan on how to implement this programme.
“We hope to prepare the action plan within this month to submit to the World Bank,” he said.
He said the council intends to develop a sustainable solution to the solid waste issue by effectively managing waste at village and district levels without polluting other areas.