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Kanpur: Kanpur, acclaimed as ‘Manchester of India’ is donning a new role of being a torch bearer in the garbage disposal management across the state. The city virtually plagued by heaps of garbage and scattered filth just few years back is witnessing a silent renaissance in the field of garbage disposal and solid waste management, its shining roads and lanes are signalling a new dawn for the city. Its metamorphosis can be an effective role model to other cities and towns across the state.

All this has been possible due to foresightedness of officials of State government and Kanpur Nagar Nigam who relied on the proposal of A2Z infrastructure to make city’s garbage disposal fast and effective. A2Z looking after the city’s garbage disposal system is providing all quality services to its citizen and providing a pollution free environment.

It is to be noted here that Kanpur, have a population of 36 lakhs (3.6 million) a sprawling area of 260 sq kms divided into 110 municipal wards houses numbers of textiles, fertilisers, leather and arms manufacturing units each adding to its pollution.

KNN (Kanpur Nagar Nigam) has been entrusted the task of transporting, collecting and disposing of solid waste of 1500 tonnes per day generated across city. It had numbers of collection centres in the city out of which more than 400 of are open dumps. It’s 3000 Safai Karmacharis and 132 vehicle fleet were supposed to gather and transport the city garbage at an “authorised” site situated at a few kilometers distance.

And all this was managed at annual cost of Rs 42 crore has come down to half with this new method implementation. KNN banks on State Finance Commission grants for all its collection and transportation activity. The services of rag-pickers were taken to remove recyclable waste from waste chain.

In 2000, Government of India, exercised its powers under the environment (Protection) Act of 1986 and notified the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) rules. Supreme Court played a very important role in it. Central government’s JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission) launched in 2005 focussed on the improvisation, public service delivery in urban areas in general and solid waste management in particular and also offered funds for this purpose.

KNN and state government made a right use of this opportunity and went on for Public private partnership in changing the city’s solid waste management.

The garbage collection centres situated at Shashtri Nagar and near MG college, civil lines have been converted into parks. To cover these parks local community help is being taken. One of such parks has become public space for expression of art. The artists have made beautiful paintings on a wall which was neglected and unkempt at that time. Here another garbage collection centre has been converted into a ward office.

How all this has happened is quite an interesting story and shows what a determination for social cause can do. KNN came out with a BOOT (build, own, operate, transfer) contract to A2Z Infrastructure, a Haryana based company. Its selection was done with competitive bidding. Land (46 acres) was provide free on 30 years lease to company.

The plant to process 1500 tonnes of solid waste per day was set up along with tipping platform, a pre-segregation unit, a composing unit, an RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) unit, a briquette manufacturing unit, a plastic segregation unit and secured landfill. The total project cost of Rs 110 crore, Rs 56.6 crore from JNNURM and the rest from its private partner.

The same company also got the contract for transportation and collection. It offers door-to-door garbage collections being done by Rickshaws by Safai Mitras while using their protective masks and hand gloves. The collected garbage is unloaded into refuse compactor trucks of varying capacity which can carry load of 40 to 50 bins. This helps in compressing the garbage and accommodating it in the vehicle. Its each transport vehicle is GPS equipped and every stoppage from garbage collection is monitored and recorded.

The KNN have fixed Rs 30-50 for households, Rs 1000-6000 for industry and Rs 15 for the urban poor. The garbage is collected by A2Z on behalf of KNN and monthly collection stood at Rs 0.75 crore. For the first three months, the services remained free.

The garbage is collected in a central site where it is being segregated, sorted and transformed in number of products value. For example, RDF, inter-locking tiles using construction debris, premium quality compost. After selling off other recyclable material, very little is left to deposit in the landfill.

Rag pickers are being provided the opportunity of beginning new life. Rajneesh Mehra of A2Z says, “Some of the former rag-pickers (130, to be precise) now earn a regular salary as safai mitras, sport a bank ATM card, enjoy social security and health benefits, and their young kids have started going to schools. We plan to employ many more.”

Here Kanpur Waste Management Plant is the largest producer of compost from organic waste, of which Kapur's 50 percent waste is bio-degradable. The compost quality is enhanced by its R&D lab at plant. The premium quality organic fertiliser is being sold through different companies like IPL, KRIBHCO, Green Star, Coromandal and its own brand “Vasundhara”.

In 2010, A2Z Infrastructure, the private company made Rs 110 crore investment to set up their own money in a waste to energy plant making the largest integrated project in solid waste. This power plant enables the company to use the collection, disposal and processing synergies. 15MW electricity is being produced by the plant by produced in house RDF.

The boilers burn RDF, a fuel made from garbage at low temperatures ensuring that no oxide, nitrogen, sulphur, dioxins and furans. This is for the first time CFBC technology is being used in India. In fact, for this project, the prime minister gave KNN the JNNURM award for excellence for Best City of Improvements in Solid Waste Management.

With solid waste disposal becoming a reality and a viable idea, Kanpur must now address the liquid waste challenge to make Ganga clean.


Note: This report is in context with the article of The Indian EXPRESS by Isher Judge Ahluwalia, July 25 issue.

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