East Delhi has `historic waste` to clear: NGO activist

New Delhi: The East Delhi Municipal Corporation(EDMC) needs to clean up "historic waste" before its "door-to-door waste collection" pilot project starts, the director of an NGO working in this area claims. "There are wastes that no one can account for," said Bharati Chaturvedi, director of Chintan, a non-government organisation engaged in environmental research and the development of methods to recycle waste to create social wealth. She explained that "historic waste" is a term used to describe toxic garbage and electronic waste.

"These days, even municipal waste is thrown out, and no one claims it, the NGO activist told IANS. The EDMC had earlier announced a tie-up with Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group for the collection of waste, door to door. A pilot project for the purpose had received the nod of a standing committee. A municipal corporation official said that the implementation of the project could take about a fortnight: "It awaits clearance in the house, after which a contract would be forwarded to Chintan. It could take 15 days," he said. The official said that East Delhi generates around 1,600 metric tonnes of waste each day. "With no private companies present in the area to clean up waste and generate employment for rag-pickers, we at Chintan put up a proposal to the government. We are glad that it has been accepted," Chaturvedi said. "EDMC will be providing the site to the NGO who would be doing the work for free. Our main purpose is to get the waste segregated at source and remove garbage that could be recycled," said Yoginder Mann, public relations officer with EDMC said. The NGO would work closely with waste-pickers. Chintan has been involved in the creation of employment for waste pickers. It has a history of work with the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) on similar projects. IANS