Waste management capacity has increased, 'Clean India' not far away: Housing Affairs secy

The country is moving in a direction in which "Clean India" is not far away, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra said on Tuesday.

Addressing a webinar on "COVID 19: Challenges and Opportunities associated with Waste Management in India", Mishra said the country was processing solid waste effectively.

"We are growing our capacity of door-to-door waste pick-up and 65 per cent of waste is being segregated at the source of generation," he said at the webinar hosted by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in partnership with Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS).

"In the last six years, our waste management capacity has increased in a multi-fold manner," the secretary said.

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For solid waste management, the ministry has come up with a protocol on "Garbage-free City", in which cities can be given a star-rating ranging from one-seven, based on the level of cleanliness, he said.

"India is moving towards a direction where 'Clean India' is not far away," Mishra said.

D K Aggarwal, president of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said waste management is one of the most important aspects now because of the outbreak of COVID-19.

"The biomedical waste has increased in quantity as compared to last year. In the epicenter of COVID-19, Wuhan, bio-medical waste increased up to six times when COVID-19 was at its peak.

"So, for India, we need to be more careful and manage this waste properly in these times of COVID-19," Aggarwal added.