Bhubaneswar, April 4: The Centre has asked the civic body to ensure each household in the city had colour-coded waste bins in an effort to achieve 100 per cent waste segregation at source from June 5, the World Environment Day.
The directive came from the Union ministry of urban development that has set June 5 deadline for all waste to be segregated at source. The ministry has also been asking the civic body to organise mass pledging ceremonies to create a world record.
"We have received the directives from the ministry and have also initiated the process to identify localities where the colour-coded waste bins are urgently needed. We are also conducting camps to mobilise and make citizens aware about the need to segregate waste at source," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.
The ministry, in its directive, has suggested that the civic body procure the Swachh Bharat waste containers from the e-marketplace of the central government and distribute and install those in households or localities where there are not enough bins.
Municipal commissioner Krishan Kumar had earlier announced April 1 deadline for segregation of waste for bulk waste generators, while the June 5 deadline would be applicable to all. The civic body had issued notices to 100 bulk waste generators in the city to ensure segregation of their waste at source.
"We are making all efforts to keep the city clean. In February, we started the process of installing the colour-coded waste bins across the city and encouraged the citizens to adopt their use. We have installed around 3,000 such bins. It is now time to make the citizens aware about this," said Kumar.
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has been asked to prepare a comprehensive action plan to ensure the task of waste segregation is achieved in a collective manner. Accordingly, the civic body is now sensitising its sanitary officials to transport the segregate waste properly to the final dumping zone.
"It is necessary for everyone to be aware of civic issues. It is not just the duty of the civic body to ensure a clean city," said environmentalist Binay Dash.
