Ladakh to have state policy on solid waste management soon

The Union Territory of Ladakh will soon have a state policy on solid waste and plastic waste management to attain zero waste status via sustainable innovations, interventions, and technology.

The policy document has been prepared with a vision to create Ladakh as an energy-efficient, garbage-free, and carbon-neutral waste management area so that it emerges as one of the cleanest regions in the country.

Ajeet Kumar Sahu, Commissioner Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department, discussed the draft policy at the 4th advisory committee of Solid Waste Management meeting.

The meeting was held to design the solid waste strategy and action plan for the Union Territory.

Sahu said the policy guidelines must be created to help behavioural change in households, individuals, and institutions to decrease waste generations.

He said the behavioural change should be a key policy intervention.

The commissioner's secretary said the policy must include the enrolment, identification, and regulation of rag-pickers and waste dealers. In the Union Territory, the rag-pickers should be given identity cards and uniforms.

Sahu said it would be the duty of the landlords to notify the municipality if their tenant’s waste was getting collected or not to acquire 100% door-to-door solid waste collection.

Emphasising the significance of creating the dignity and well-being of sanitation workers, including rag-pickers, the Secretary, Rural Development Department, and Saugat Biswas stressed the requirement to integrate into the policy regular health check-ups, uniforms, and protective gear for the rag-pickers and sanitation workers.

Some other purposes of drafting the policy include the elimination of any secondary waste collection points to attain a bin-free region, enhancing hygiene and garbage-free ranking at the national level, and having a solid waste management infrastructure compatible with severe cold and dry climate.

The policy would ensure 100% segregation of residential and commercial waste at the source along with the segregated waste processing, 100% door-to-door solid waste collection from all properties, and integrated waste management for biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste directed to minimum disposal at a sanitary landfill.

Under the policy, management of construction and demolition waste and recycling will also be covered.

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