Bihar News : The Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) is set to overhaul the city’s waste management system by bringing in a private agency to handle door-to-door garbage collection and road cleaning. The civic body is implementing an integrated solid waste management system under which an agency will be responsible for waste collection, transportation and road sweeping for four years at an estimated cost of ₹555.32 crore.
A tender for the project has already been issued, and the new system is expected to become operational soon.
Four Types of Waste to Be Collected Separately
Under the new system, households and commercial establishments across all 75 wards of Patna will have to segregate waste into four categories, including wet and dry waste.
The private agency will collect the segregated waste from homes and commercial establishments and transport it to Garbage Transfer Stations (GTS). The agency will also be responsible for transporting the waste from the transfer stations to designated processing facilities.
After segregation and processing, the waste will be taken to the Ramchak Bairiya dumping yard, where a proposed Waste-to-Energy plant is planned.
Private Agency to Handle Road Cleaning Too
The agency’s responsibilities will not be limited to garbage collection. It will also handle road cleaning across the city.
The agency will arrange manual night sweeping, e-rickshaws, handcarts, tractors and other resources required for waste collection and cleaning operations.
The municipal corporation has divided the city into six circles, with manual road-sweeping arrangements planned for all of them.
Purchase of 725 New Vehicles Put on Hold
The municipal corporation had earlier approved the purchase of 725 new vehicles to strengthen the city’s waste collection system. However, the purchase was put on hold after the government directed the civic body to implement an integrated solid waste management system.
According to the corporation, around 40% of the city’s areas are currently affected by door-to-door waste collection due to old and damaged vehicles.
The 75 wards have been divided into sectors, with separate vehicles and teams assigned to each sector. The corporation said alternative vehicles are deployed whenever a vehicle breakdown is reported to ensure that garbage collection continues.
More Than 4 Lakh Households and Establishments to Be Covered
The project will cover approximately 404,509 households and establishments across Patna.
Of these, around 342,892 residential houses, apartments and hostels will be covered, along with 61,617 commercial establishments that will receive regular waste collection services.
The municipal corporation expects the new system to improve door-to-door waste collection and reduce the problem of garbage accumulating in open spaces across the city.
Additional Municipal Commissioner Rajan Sinha said the new system is expected to provide residents with better waste collection and cleaning services. The civic body has also set a target of improving Patna’s cleanliness ranking and taking the city from five-star to seven-star status.
