Montek praises PMC for waste management

Praising the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) for it’s efforts on solid waste management, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Monday said that he would ask all the chief ministers in the country to set up cabinet committee on solid waste and water management. 

Ahluwalia had visited bio-gas plant at Peshve Park and Rochem waste to energy plant at Ramtekadi industrial estate. PMC commissioner Mahesh Pathak, joint commissioner (solid waste management) Suresh Jagtap and others were present during the plant visit. 

While addressing the two-day workshop at Bharati Vidyapeeth, Ahluwalia said that Pune is way ahead of many other local bodies in the country, as far as, waste management is concerned. He suggested, “Solid waste can be utilised for generating more wealth for local bodies than using it for lighting up the street lights.”

 He said, “Multiple agencies including local bodies, state and Centre are involved in water management, and solid waste treatment. And, I thought that every state government can set up a cabinet committee on solid waste and water management so that it could make work faster.” 

PMC commissioner Pathak said, “Ahluwalia spent two-hours at these projects between 9 and 11 am, taking keen interest on them. He asked many questions and suggested a number of things.”

Power cut  disrupts CM programme

While the CM was dwelling upon issues of energy security and electricity generation, the power went off thrice, at the auditorium which interrupted his address. Chavan said, “there are no problems with the MSEDCL feeder or supply, it was some local problem.’ Source informed that instead of MSEDCL supply, the organisers had relied on generator which failed time and again at the fag end of the function.