Dec. 8: Dispur has told Ramky, the company that is executing the solid waste management project, to keep the city clean at any cost, while assuring it that the state government would ensure a steady flow of funds for it.

Though the project was launched in 2008, a large number of complaints has been received from many quarters that the implementation of the project has been ineffective, forcing the government to review the project many times.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi reviewed the garbage clearance project in the city at a high-level meeting today with senior officials of Ramky, GMC and Guwahati development department.

Official sources said Gogoi has directed Ramky to leave no stone unturned to keep the city clean by strictly supervising the collection of garbage by NGOs from households and commercial establishments.

“Dispur has been briefed about the situation in the city. The chief minister was concerned and made his point before the company,” sources said.

Gogoi asked Ramky to provide dustbins, machinery and equipment to dispose garbage and make the city clean. The NGOs were not happy with the functioning of the project and had complained to the government.

Ramky has also been asked to upgrade its technology to make it environment-friendly and prevent damage to roads and pavements during the process of garbage clearance through machinery.

Gogoi told the senior officials of Ramky that while the government would ensure steady flow of funds, the company would have to keep the city clean at any cost.

Gogoi also asked Ramky and GMC to work in tandem and to ensure smooth co-ordination with different stakeholders to make the garbage-clearing process a hassle-free one.

Ramky chairman A.A. Rami Reddy, who was present in the meeting, assured the chief minister that it would provide the necessary waste bins and equipment for garbage clearance.

The company would invest Rs 68 crore in the next 10 years to procure equipment.

The project is being implemented by the Guwahati Waste Management Company Ltd, a joint venture of the state government and Hyderabad-headquartered Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd.

This is the first project implemented by the government through private-public partnership mode.

Altogether 30 compactors are going to be introduced in the city by January next year at an estimated cost of Rs 20 crore, to clear nearly 600 tonnes of solid waste produced in the city daily.

A compactor is a machine or mechanism used to reduce the size of waste material or soil through compaction.

Under the municipal solid waste management project, a 6MW power generation plant will be set up.

Of the Rs 102-crore solid waste management project, the Centre is providing is 35 crore while the rest is being provided by the private company. This was the first solid waste management project to be sanctioned in the country under JNNURM.

Under the terms of agreement, the Guwahati Waste Management Company will take care of collection, transportation and treatment of municipal solid waste for a 20-year period.

The meeting was attended, among others, by additional chief secretary P.K. Choudhury, commissioner and secretary, GDD, A.K. Bhutani, GMC Commissioner Puru Gupta and officials of Ramky, GMC and GMDA.