Noida to rope in private players to deal with garbage

NOIDA - With piles of garbage and untreated sewage becoming one of the biggest problems in Noida, authorities are now planning to rope in private players to clean up the city.

“The (Noida) authority will soon invite private institutes or organizations to work in partnership with the government, to manage the garbage,” Noida Authority chairman Mohinder Singh said addressing students at the International Media Institute of India (IMII) here Thursday.

A part of the National Capital Region (NCR), Noida, a planned community of industrial parks and residential colonies in the southeast of Delhi, is facing a host of problems ranging from sanitation and environment to law and order.

Answering questions posed by the students, Singh urged them to look at the glass as half full rather than half empty while admitting that Noida has “some serious problems to solve”.

“Noida has seen a remarkable growth in recent times, with many malls and IT companies locating in the city, and with that growth comes problems,” Singh said.

Giving an illustrated plan to deal with the problems, Singh spelt out a series of measures including setting up of advanced surveillance system to deal with security issues and a new power plant being planned.

Referring to the sanitation problem and piles of uncleared garbage at various places in the city, Singh said an elaborate plan for waste management is being prepared by the authority.

“We have identified dumping grounds where the non-biodegradable and non-recyclable waste will be dumped. However, 70 percent of the garbage is bio-degradable,” he said.

Asked about the sewage that poses a great health threat to Noida, Singh said that a case is being pursued against the Delhi government in the Supreme Court as untreated sewage from Delhi was the biggest problem.

“Noida’s sewage processing rate is one of the highest in Uttar Pradesh as well as the country, with only 60 percent of its sewage being treated currently. Unfortunately, many of the drains that pass through Noida start from Delhi, and the only way to clean (them) is by forcing Delhi to treat its sewage before letting it into Noida,” he said adding that Noida will be in a position to treat 100 percent of its sewage by 2012.

Talking about the law and order issues in the suburb, Singh said that advanced surveillance systems will be put in place soon to control the situation.

“The city will soon employ advanced technologies like the Geographical Information System (GIS) and surveillance systems with cameras mounted at vantage points,” Singh said adding, “we have security issues everywhere but things about Noida are often blown out of proportion”.

Talking about the endemic power woes of the suburb, Singh said that a new power plant with a capacity of 2,000 megawatts is in the planning stages and will be in operation by 2015.

The Noida chairman also stressed the inclusion of peripheral villages within the city planning to ensure sustainable development.

“Sustainable growth is necessary, development of villages is essential. It is necessary to put forward their felt views and needs,” he added.