In a noteworthy progress, Kolkata, together with 10 other cities in the world, has been honoured with the best cities of 2016 award for inspiring and innovative programme concerning solid waste management, during the C40 Mayors Summit held in Mexico City.
Notably, Kolkata is the only Indian city to receive this prestigious award. “Kolkata Solid Waste Management Improvement Project has achieved 60-80 per cent (depending on site) segregation of waste at its source, with further waste segregation occurring at transfer stations,” reads a media release.
“Forward looking, the project aims to eradicate open dumping and burning of waste and to limit the concentration of methane gas generated in landfill sites,” it said.
“In our country, only Kolkata metropolitan has got this award,” said Dilip Yadav, chairman of the Uttarpara Municipality after receiving the prestigious award from C40 Chair and Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes.
“This motivates us for more performance for the sustainability of this project,” he added.
“Our motto is participation of the common people. Being chairman, I have visited 50,000 houses and have made our people aware about the benefits of solid waste management,” he said.
“The project involved 100 per cent door to door collection of solid waste, segregation and recycling by way of compositing which is sold in the market,” said Onkar Singh-Meena, Secretary Municipal Affairs and CEO of Kolkata Municipal Development Authority.
“One significant aspect of this project is that rag pickers are part of it,” added Meena, who is head of the Kolkata delegation to the Mayors Summit.
Other cities that have won the award include Addis Adaba, Copenhagen, Curitiba, Sydney and Malborne, Paris, Portland, Seoul Shenzhen, and Yokohama.
