By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh on Tuesday informed the House that the State Government has received the clearance from the Union Ministry of Forest and Environment for the land-fill site at Marten in Mawlai Mawiong.
“This clearance of the land-fill site was the outcome of the efforts of the Government in the last two years,” Ampareen said while replying to the concern raised by Mawlai legislator Embhah Syiemlieh (UDP) on the deteriorating health condition of people residing close to the dumping ground at Marten.
She assured that the condition of the dumping ground would be improved once the land-fill site comes up.
To another supplementary question raised by UDP legislator Paul Lyngdoh, the Urban Affairs Minister said that the Shillong Municipal Board has already pressed a team to ensure collection of garbage on Sundays.
She also informed that presently a total of 78 to 80 tonnes of garbage is being collected on a single day through door-to-door collection of garbage from 25 localities of the city.
Ampareen also informed that the Government has identified a sanitation land-fill site at new Shillong Township.
In an attempt to improve the living standards of the urban poor, the Department is giving financial assistance for setting up self-driven enterprises, financial assistance to women self help groups, skills training, creation of wage employment, creation of housing for urban poor and health check up at the locality level, she informed.
On the number of BPL families in urban areas, Ampareen informed that there are a total of 2,925 BPL households with a population of 1,31,085.
