Govt earmarks Rs 10 lakh each for 585 mandis for waste management

The government will provide Rs 10 lakh to all the 585 mandis in the country which are to be covered through the e-NaM platform for setting up of waste management plants.

The fund allocated to mandis would be over and above the Rs 30 lakh given for setting up the e-NaM platform. That apart it has also decided to earmark one per cent fund of the flagship Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY) for the cleanliness drive.

"We have prepared Swachhta Action Plan and have decided to provide Rs 10 lakh each to 585 mandis across the country for setting up waste management plants," Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh told reporters.

The government has integrated 250 mandis in 10 states with the electronic national agriculture market (e-NAM) in the first phase.

Stating that the cleanliness drives were undertaken in 271 agricultural mandis during Swachhta Pakhwada, Singh said there is a need to manage waste fruits and vegetables to keep these mandis clean. He said it has been decided that under one flagship scheme, RKVY, one per centf unds will be spent on solid and waste management.

In this year's budget, about Rs 5,000 crore was allocated under this scheme, a senior official said.

The minister highlighted the cleanliness activities undertaken by the three departments under his ministry -- Department of Agriculture & Co-operation, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries and Department of Agricultural Research & Education -- across the country.

"Each KVK will adopt five villages for undertaking activities related to cleanliness," he added.