Govt aiming to convert garbage-filled lands in urban areas into green zones: PM

Indore, Feb 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the government is making efforts to free thousands of acres of land in the country's urban areas from piles of garbage, which was being dumped there for decades, and convert these places into green zones in the next couple of years.

He said the garbage disposal capacity of the urban areas in the country has increased by four times since 2014. Batting for the use of bio-fuels to reduce India's dependence on other countries for petroleum products, he said that ethanol blending in petrol, which used to be only about two per cent eight years back, has now grown to around eight per cent.

Modi was speaking after virtually inaugurating the Rs 150 crore 550-tonne capacity 'gobar-dhan' Bio-CNG plant, which is based on the concept of waste-to-wealth innovation, in Indore city of Madhya Pradesh. "Lakhs of tonnes of garbage stood on thousands of acres of land for decades in cities across the country, which is a major reason for the spread of diseases as it caused air and water pollution," Modi said.

Therefore, in the second phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission, the government is making efforts to free such lands of the piles of garbage, he said. "The aim is that our cities should get rid of these piles of garbage in the coming two-three years and such places can be converted into green zones. The state governments are being provided all possible help to achieve this aim," he said.

Modi said the material recovery facilities are being developed in more than 1,600 civic bodies to get rid of single-use plastic. "Our efforts are on to develop such arrangements in every city of the country to give a boost to circular economy," he added. The prime minister said that cleanliness boosts tourism as every city of the country has historical and religious places.

"If cities are clean, people from other places will prefer to visit. Cleanliness boosts tourism and it kickstarts a new economy," he said, adding that people visit Indore only to see the arrangements done for the purpose of cleanliness. In the coming two years, work is being done on setting up such gobar-dhan Bio CNG Plants in 75 big municipal bodies of the country, he said.

"This campaign will hugely help in making India's cities clean and pollution-free and take them in the direction of clean energy," he said. The PM said that not only in the cities but a large number of gobar-dhan biogas plants are also being installed in the rural parts and the stock breeders are getting additional income through cow dung. "All these efforts will help India achieve the climate commitments," he said.

He said that facilities for sewage water treatment are being increased in those civic bodies, where less than one lakh population reside. "India doesn't own oil wells and is dependent on other countries for the petroleum products. Ethanol blending in petrol used to be only 1 per cent to 2 per cent 7 to 8 years ago in India, which is now reaching around 8 per cent," he said. Before 2014, the ethanol supply for blending was around 40-crore litres, which has now gone up to 300-crore litres.

This has helped the sugar cane mills and farmers, Modi said. The pre-2014 governments were indifferent towards the solar power generation, he alleged. "But our government has launched a drive to increase solar power generation after 2014. This has resulted in India ranking among the top five countries in the world as far as solar power generation is concerned," he said. The PM said that farmers are now becoming solar power providers. Praising the residents of Indore, he said they segregate garbage in six segments for the convenience of its processing and recycling.

"Such efforts will help in making the Swachh Bharat Mission a success," he said, adding that it has showcased that the word 'Life' actually stands for 'lifestyle for environment'. "We have taken an important decision in the budget that stubble will also be used in coal-fired power plants, which will not only end farmers' woes, but also ensure extra income for them," he added. Talking about Indore, which earned the 'cleanest city' tag for the fifth time in a row last year, Modi said, as soon as the name of Indore is mentioned, one remembers Devi Ahilyabai Holkar and her work. The work of cleanliness also comes to mind at the mention of Indore, he said while praising the citizens for their civic sense.

Mentioning the installation of Ahilyabai's statue in Kashi Vishwanath temple, he said the people of Indore will be proud to seeing it during their visit to Varanasi. Modi said that the Kumbh Mela organised in Prayagraj under the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has got a new identity due to cleanliness, which was discussed by media houses across the world, while earlier, the discussion used to revolve only around sadhus and saints (seers and saints).

"It (cleanliness at Kumbh Mela) had a huge positive effect on my mind. After the holy dip in Kumbh, my respect for the sanitary workers grew so much that I washed their feet, honoured them and sought their blessings," Modi said. Thanking the sanitary workers of Indore, the prime minister said they have helped in saving lives during the coronavirus pandemic has and brought down the need for the common people to visit doctors. Modi also thanked the people, especially women, for segregating garbage and keeping the neighbourhood clean.
Mentioning Indore's status of being a 'water plus' city, the PM said the government is making efforts to bring more and more cities of the country under this category. Emphasis is being laid on this in the second phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission, he said. Situated on the Devguradia trenching ground in Indore, the 550-tonne per day capacity Bio-CNG plant is the biggest of its kind in entire Asia, an official claimed. Madhya Pradesh Governor Mangubhai Patel, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, among others, were present for the programme. PTI