By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 17: The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) is optimistic about finalising the Comprehensive Action Plan (CAP) for solid waste management programme early.
Once the CAP is finalised, it will be submitted to the World Bank which is funding the programme. The council has plans to roll out the CAP to five districts falling under its jurisdiction.
Recently, it co-opted three members from Operation Clean-Up (OCU), which is a group formed in 2019 to start a people’s movement for cleaning up rivers and making Shillong and its suburbs green. The trio from OCU will function as members of the council’s Solid Waste Management Cell (SWMC).
KHADC Chief Executive Member Pyniaid Sing Syiem said on Sunday that the council roped in the OCU members to prepare the CAP.
The SWMC, headed by the council’s Deputy Secretary Andy Basaiawmoit, comprises PHE department consultant Mark West and Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board senior environmental engineer WR Kharkrang.
“I am confident that we will be able to finalise the CAP anytime soon before submitting it to the World Bank,” Syiem told The Shillong Times.
He was also confident that the SWMC will be able to come up with new ideas on how to address the problem of solid waste management.
Syiem said the council wanted to develop a sustainable solution to the solid waste issue by effectively managing waste at village and district levels without causing pollution in other areas.
The council is also planning to regulate garbage collection fees, introduce penalties for haphazard waste dumping, and protect rivers, water bodies and catchment areas by involving various stakeholders in the programme, Syiem said.
“In the long run, we will request the World Bank to set up a waste processing plant. This is a long-term priority,” he added.
Earlier, the KHADC approached the World Bank seeking its help to find a lasting solution to the solid waste management problem. At the beginning, the council will focus on building capacity, creating awareness and setting up some Resource Recovery Centres on a pilot project mode.
Some powers and duties of the SWMC will be to formulate schemes and projects involving the chief and his Dorbar, the Raid and the Dorbar Shnong and set up a system on solid waste management at the Elaka/Raid and village levels.
The SWMC will be the monitoring agency for the implementation of solid waste management and it may seek reports from the Elaka and village as and when required. Further, it will identify, allocate landfill and associated infrastructure for the disposal of residual wastes in consultation with the Elaka, Raid and village concerned.
It will also prescribe fine for villages and waste generators violating the provisions of the Act. The roles and responsibilities of the chief and his Dorbar, the headman and the Dorbar Shnong are defined in the Act.