Sept. 21: The Guwahati Municipal Corporation has taken up a pilot project on door-to-door collection of garbage covering 2,000 households in Uzanbazar, Chenikuthi and Silpukhuri.

GMC commissioner Rajesh Prasad issued an order on September 17 entrusting Infrastructure Development Corporation of Assam Limited (IDCAL) with the project. The first of its kind by the GMC, the project will later be replicated all over the city.

IDCAL, a joint venture company of Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (ILFS), will implement the pilot project through non-governmental organisations.

A GMC source said the door-to-door collection would ensure the disposal of garbage in a proper manner. IDCAL is procuring 10 tricycles. Each off these will be provided with six colour-coded bins, three each for biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste.

Under the pilot project, IDCAL, with the help of NGOs, will sensitise the people regarding the segregation of biodegradable waste from non-biodegradable waste.

“The actual door-to-door collection will start over the next 20 days,” the source said.

The source said GMC and IDCAL have jointly formed the Guwahati Waste Management Company Private Ltd, which will be responsible for implementation of waste management projects. Streamlining garbage collection would be the “first step” towards making Guwahati a dustbin-free city.

“If our experiment with door-to-door collection succeeds, we can gradually do away with community waste bins on the streets,” he added.

“IDCAL, with the help of the NGOs, will engage persons to do the collection and they will be paid by the residents of the locality where they work,” he explained.

He said the biggest challenge would be to sustain the programme, which GMC plans to achieve through largescale publicity.

The GMC has also signed an agreement with IDCAL for selecting a private developer to set up an integrated municipal waste processing facility with central funds received under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The developer will also be responsible for door-to-door collection, transportation and running the processing facility. The bidding process to select the private developer is likely to start within two months.

“The Guwahati Waste Management Company Private Limited has already applied for mandatory clearance from the Union ministry of environment and forests and the pollution control board. When the private developer is selected, it will take over the rights of the company and start the implementation of the multi-crore waste management project under the JNNURM,” the source said.