Leh, Aug 18: The UT High Powered Committee (UTHPC) meeting on the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM-U 2.0) held under the Chairmanship of the Advisor, Ladakh, Umang Narula reviewed various Solid Waste Management projects under SBM 2.0 and approved proposals amounting to Rs 59.34 crore for submission to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).

In a detailed presentation, the concerned officials apprised the Advisor of the action plans for various projects approved by respective District Level Committees for Leh and Kargil viz. city sanitation action plan for toilets for Leh and Kargil; city sanitation action plan for used water management (Leh); city solid waste action plan (Kargil); municipal solid waste processing gap analysis and action plan; IEC/BCC action plan Leh/Kargil and capacity building action plan. Infrastructure development for wastewater reuse from the existing Sewage Treatment Plants at benchmarked Service Levels was discussed and necessary measures were proposed for making the infrastructure climate resilient and optimization of renewable energy use.

In the meeting, Advisor Narula discussed the necessity to make the existing public and community toilets winter-friendly with appropriate civil and electro-mechanical retrofitting, provision of insulated water supply and sewerage that works in sub-zero temperature. He also stressed the importance of Information Education Communication (IEC) and Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) with sustained workshops/events targeting source segregation, generation reduction and disposal system by various stakeholders including but not limited to local residents, tourists, migrant labourers, and business owners such as travel agents, bike rental agencies, hospitality and merchant associations.

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The Principal Secretary, Planning Development & Monitoring Department, Dr. Pawan Kotwal stated that a robust capacity-building action plan should be implemented to provide skill development for the identified stakeholders in Leh and Kargil toward better municipal waste management services.

The meeting was also attended by Administrative Secretary, Housing & Urban Development Department; Administrative Secretary, Rural Development Department; Chief Conservator of Forests; Member Secretary Pollution Control Committee; Director H&UDD; Mission Director, SBM-G/Director RDD; Chief Engineer, PHE and Executive Officer, MC, Leh/Kargil.