Japan to help Gujarat in smart-community development project

Gandhinagar, Jan 13 (PTI) A consortium of Japanesecompanies is preparing a report on the feasibility ofsmart-community development project in Gujarat, said MasakiIda, Chief Director of Japan External Trade Organisationtoday.

"Consortium is expected to be ready with the reportby this fiscal end," Ida told PTI at Vibrant GujaratSummit-2011 here.

Among other things, the project aims at increasingrecycling of industrial waste. According to preliminaryestimate of the Japanese experts, of the 6.23 million tonnesof hazardous waste generated in India annually, 22 per centcomes from Gujarat.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard hadbeen signed by Japan and India in April last year during thevisit of Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

Following which, Gujarat government signed an MoU fordeveloping Surat as eco-town on the lines of ''Kitakyushu EcoTown'' in Japan and development of Dahej on the lines of 3Roriented'' environmentally smart-community development conceptprevalent in Japan.

"We have just started the work in Gujarat after thesigning of MoU between the two governments. A lot of e-wasteis generated in Surat and in future, we aim to re-cycle it.

The idea is to have a recycle industrial area'' for effectiveand safe disposal of waste," Junichi Sono, Deputy Director,Kitakyushu Asian Centre for Low Carbon Society, said.

"We have helped authorities in Surat to prepare a masterplan for the city," Sono said. (more) PTI VKB PDKRK

The project at Dahej focuses on development of the town as a model centre for reduced emissions, re-use of waste,and recycling of industrial waste.

"3R means to reduce, reuse and recycle''," said JunyaKikuhara, Manager, Environment Policy Team, Ex Corporation.

Dahej is a fast emerging industrial town, and GujaratMaritime Board has decided to accord priority to developmentof Marine Ship Building Park there.

Around 100 delegates from Japan are participating inthe VGS-2011. Japan is also a partner country of Gujarat forthis summit, besides Canada.