Swachh Bharat 2.0: NITI Aayog – UNDP hold 1st capacity building workshop for Maharashtra and Goa ULB’s on Sustainable Management of Plastic Waste Management
NITI Aayog and UNDP
India today held first regional capacity building workshop for urban local
bodies (ULB’s) on sustainable plastic waste management in Mumbai.
The capacity
building workshop follows the launch of ‘NITI Aayog-UNDP Handbook on
Sustainable Urban Plastic Waste Management’, released by NITI Aayog Vice
Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar, CEO Amitabh
Kant, Rameshwar Prasad Gupta, Secretary Ministry of Environment Forest and
Climate Change, Special Secretary Dr K Rajeswara Rao, and Shoko Noda, Resident
Representative, UNDP India last month.
Special Secretary
Dr K Rajeswara Rao, NITI Aayog, and Nadia Rasheed, Deputy Resident
Representative, UNDP inaugurated the workshop which was attended by 40
government officials from Urban Local Bodies, Urban Development Departments and
State Pollution Control Boards in person and 100+ officials online.
“With the launch of
Swachh Bharat 2.0, the Government of India is geared to make cities garbage
free. Managing plastic waste better is critical to realise the goals of clean
India. Through the workshop our aim is to provide practical solutions to the
ULB’s to manage plastic waste more efficiently. The decentralised model for
plastic waste management detailed in the handbook has been adapted globally and
has shown potential of plastic recycling,” said Dr Rao.
“Maharashtra and
Goa present before us numerous best examples to manage plastic waste and we are
happy to launch our first workshop here. Learnings and solutions from this
workshop will help in scaling up the workshops to other states in the coming
months,” he added.
The Handbook has
been jointly developed by UNDP India and NITI Aayog, in consultation with
eminent experts and leading organizations in the domain of plastic waste. The
discussion for the Handbook was initiated in February 2021. This was followed
by over 20 virtual stakeholder consultations including Urban Local Bodies,
Recyclers, Corporates, Civil Society Organizations and Academia. The format
included expert interviews, focussed group discussions, and technical workshops
covering 14 Indian cities and four South East Asian cities. The handbook
presents best practices and examples from cities in India and Southeast Asia
which face similar infrastructure and plastic waste challenges.
"UNDP’s Plastic Waste Management initiative promotes a sustainable
model by collecting, separating, and recycling all types of plastic waste. It
also ensures that Safai Sathis (waste pickers) are recognised and paid for
their work. These workshops reflect our commitment to promote, scale up and
replicate a sustainable model for waste management across cities to achieve the
objectives of Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0. We are proud to partner and work
together with the Government of India, NITI Aayog, and urban local bodies in
this endeavour,” said Nadia Rasheed, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP
India.
The Handbook details plastic waste management through decentralized dry
waste management. There are various waste management models in the country, and
some of the important ones, such as the UNDP Plastic Waste Management
Programme, have been captured here to help ULBs understand the process in a
step-by-step manner. The Handbook also details different financial models which
can be adopted for the economic inclusion and livelihood enhancement of waste
pickers.
"Mumbai ranks high on the list of regions vulnerable to impacts of
climate change. Sustainable plastic waste management is critical to managing
climate change and the environment. The Mumbai Climate Action Plan to develop
climate-resilient mitigation and adaptation already prioritises waste
management. We are already working with partners like UNDP to set up Swachhta
Kendra to manage plastic waste and promote innovations that will help
sustainably dispose of waste, create value, and help in mitigating climate
change. We are thankful to NITI Aayog for this workshop and for providing a
platform to urban local bodies of Maharashtra to share best practices,"
said Suresh Kakani, Additional Municipal Commissioner, Brihanmumbai Municipal
Corporation.