Bhubaneswar, Dec. 14: A delegation from University of Chicago's business school were at the municipal corporation office here today to discuss with officials about the development of a model for waste management.

The 12-member team, including varsity professors Caroline Grossman and Sanjeev Vir, interacted with mayor Ananta Narayan Jena and commissioner Krishan Kumar on the issue. They are supposed to submit their proposal within a fortnight.

The team also visited some of the slums under the civic body's jurisdiction to observe and learn about the ongoing waste management process in the city.

"We have interacted with the delegation and requested them to develop a sustainable waste management model for the city," said Kumar.

"If we want to implement a dynamic model for waste management here, we need to include all members in the model, especially the rag pickers. They play a vital role in keeping the city clean. We will look into the model proposed by the delegation and follow it accordingly," said the civic commissioner.

The delegation, along with lead team member of the Tata Trust Shishir Ranjan Dash, also interacted with Smart City CEO Vineel Krishna about their observation of waste management in Bhubaneswar. Tata Trust has already taken up a project to redevelop 600 families in nine slums in the city.

As part of its project, the company will provide financial assistance for water supply, sanitation and sewage line.

The delegation of the university has also proposed to be a part of this Tata Trust project and develop a pilot development model on waste management.

Grassman said that they were interacting regularly with different stakeholders on developing a business model on waste management.

Another member of the delegation Trent Sloles, also a professor, said that they would be in frequent touch with the key stakeholders in Bhubaneswar for the project.

"The corporation officials have given a complete idea on waste management and future agenda of the civic body on managing waste. We will focus on using the waste as assets rather than considering it as a burden, said Sloles.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said that it was an honour to receive the delegation in the city. "To retain the smart city tag, we need inputs of different experts. I am happy that the team visited the city and evinced interest in working on a model for waste management. We are ready to provide them all assistance," said Jena.