Rs 600 million project to dispose of solid waste in NWFP

The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has prepared PC-1 of a project, costing up to Rs 600 million, aimed at proper disposal of solid waste in three major cities of NWFP.
The project, titled as 'Integrated Solid Waste and Effluent Management System in Urban Cities of NWFP' has been launched by federal government under the Mid Term Development Framework 2005-10, informed Director General EPA, Dr Muhammad Bashir while talking with APP.
He said the total cost of the project is around Rs 2,000 million, but initially the federal government has released an amount of Rs 600 million for its implementation in three major cities of NWFP.
However, he added that work over the project would start after approval of its PC-1 from Ecnec (Executive Committee of National Economic Commission).
The EPA, he said, has prepared the PC-1 of the project and was presented at a meeting of review committee which approves projects for presentation in Provincial Development Working Committee (PDWC). The review committee has considered the PC-1 and presented some suggestions after incorporation of which it will be forwarded for approval from PDWC, he added.
Presently, he said, the project will be implemented in Peshawar, Mingora and D.I. Khan and as a result of measures taken under it, about 80 percent of solid waste would be disposed of properly in these cities.
Under the project, tractors, hoist trucks, containers, hand carts, small tractors and litter bins would be provided to district governments and TMAs for collection of solid waste. Lands would be selected in these cities for dumping of waste.
In the later stage of the project, EPA would also work on utilisation of solid waste to use it as alternative source of energy by collecting methane gas from it.
Dr Bashir said that in developed countries solid waste is being used as alternative source of energy. The DG EPA expressed the hope that the project would help reduce air pollution, provide clean drinking water and better surroundings to the people of these respective cities.