Urban News

Source : The Hindu Date : 27.06.2009

Punjab annual Plan finalised at Rs.8,600 crore

Special Correspondent

- Photo: S. Subramanium

Plan time: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal with Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia in New Delhi on Friday.

NEW DELHI: Punjab’s annual Plan for 2009-10 was finalised at Rs.8,600 crore at a meeting here on Friday between Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and State Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. The Plan outlay includes an additional Central assistance component of Rs.75 crore for priority projects.

Initiating the discussion, Mr. Ahluwalia lauded the State Government for taking certain decisions to improve the overall financial position and suggested higher investment in areas such as power, roads and other infrastructure sectors. He said efforts should be made to take full advantage of development programmes like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission to strengthen social security and upgrade the infrastructure in small towns.

Mr. Ahluwalia also cautioned against increased borrowings and non-Plan spending and advised the State to prepare a detailed report on all the growth indicators for the general population and the Scheduled Castes. Such a report focusing on agriculture, education, health and other service sectors would help bridge the gap in development between the SCs and the general population within a short span of time, he said.

Apprising the Commission of the initiatives taken by his government during the last financial year, Mr. Badal said the annual Plan for 2009-10 would seek to impart a special thrust to development of infrastructure such as roads, power generation and rejuvenation of irrigation facilities.

Noting that its efforts towards diversification of agriculture through contract farming had been a success, he said 2.52 lakh acres of additional land was brought under hybrid maize and sunflower cultivation. Besides, the State was also working on formulating a comprehensive agro-industrial policy, he said.

The Chief Minister said a number of schemes were taken up for the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes while more than 100 ‘Adarsh’ schools had been set up, mostly in backward areas, for improving the literacy levels in these pockets.

As for Punjab’s financial position, Mr. Badal expressed concern over its increasing debt stock and requested the Commission to consider an increase in the borrowing limit while seeking special assistance for implementing the Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations. He also urged the Commission to consider funds for land acquisition to upgrade rural roads under the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana.

Source : The Hindu Date : 27.06.2009

Handle waste innovatively

Mythili G. Nirvan

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had issued a notification a few years ago informing all apartments with more than 100 flats and owners/associations of non-residential buildings with more than 10,000 sq. m. of built-up area to collect the garbage generated in their buildings and segregate it as biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. Thereafter the segregated garbage shall be kept in one place within their premises and will be collected by the BBMP.

However, it is unfortunate that not all large apartment and commercial complexes follow this. Even if they do, few segregate the biodegradable from the non-biodegradable waste. Bangalore has run out of space for dumping garbage due to non-availability of landfills in the heart of the city. It is time that solid waste management systems were put in place to tackle this serious issue, particularly in hotels, tech parks, wedding halls and large residential and commercial complexes that generate large quantities of waste.

One of the innovative ways of waste management which has proved successful is to set up a biogas plant in the premises. It not only takes care of the waste, but converts it into cooking gas as well!

How it works

“A biogas plant can be set up by any large residential or commercial establishment. It works like this: when the waste is fed into the digester, anaerobic digestion of organic material by bacteria takes place inside. This process releases methane gas, which is collected in the biogas holder. From there, pipelines are drawn to the kitchen where it can be used for cooking,” explains Ramakumar P., Associate Vice-President, Enzen Global Solutions, an energy and environment consulting company. “The residues in the digestor move to the outlet tank which is a rich source of organic manure, and can be used for gardening.”

Proactive effort

The biogas way of waste management has been successfully implemented by the Velankani Tech Park in Electronics City where more than 4,500 employees work. “At Velankani, we were facing a challenge with waste food disposal at the canteen. Hence we mooted the proposal for alternative forms of using this resource for an internal application and address waste management issues. Utilising waste for a biogas application for the heating requirements in the canteen resulted in savings both in terms of waste disposal cost & LPG consumption,” explains V.S. Gangadhara Rao, Director, Velankani Renewable Energy Pvt Ltd.

“Presently, the waste per day averages about 150-180 kg. We save an average of Rs. 270 per day which is around Rs. 9,000 a month and around Rs. 1 lakh a year,” he adds.

However, there is a need for large-scale effort in this direction. “Segregation of waste must be made mandatory, especially in large residential and commercial complexes. The government could even consider giving incentives for initiatives like these, like it does for solar water heaters and rainwater harvesting,” suggests Mr. Ramakumar.