Dutch help sought to upgrade Shimla garbage plant

The Himachal Pradesh government on Monday signed an agreement with Nexus Novus, a Dutch firm, to prepare a feasibility study report on the state's garbage situation in the next six months.

"This feasibility study report will cost 51,565 (Euros) and the entire cost will be borne by Nexus Novus. The report will cover three clusters of Dharamsala-Kangra, Shimla-Solan and Mandi-Kullu-Manali. We will suggest ways to manage waste by involving local people. The focus will be to segregate waste at the source," said Rutger de Bruijn managing director, Nexus Novus.

The government's move came after urban development department director J M Pathania declared the recently-built garbage disposal plant at Chakkar on the outskirts of Shimla was obsolete and the latest expertise was needed to handle waste in the state. Experts said though house-to-house garbage collection was taking place in many towns, segregation of bio-degradable and plastic waste was not being done.

The maximum garbage was being generated by the two popular tourists destinations of Shimla and Manali. Due to narrow roads and steep terrain, the collection of waste was also difficult in these towns. Also, there was the challenge to keep away monkeys, stray cattle and dogs from garbage collection sites. There was even a proposal to install caged garbage bins to keep away these animals.

"If we succeed in cleaning up these hill stations, more tourists will flock in," said Bruijn.

Nexus Novus is in the early stages of helping out many state governments and civic bodies across India.