The ambitious nine-year-old waste management plant which has been stalled due to a land dispute between Paradip Port Trust and the state government may finally materalise as a team from the World Bank visited the town on Wednesday to expedite the Rs 42 crore project under the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Programme (ICZMP).
On Wednesday, a World Bank team led by Mr Akash Sharma visited the site at Bhitragada and approved of it. The team interacted with officials of Paradip Municipality, Paradip Port Trust (PPT) authorities, the stakeholders and port users for the successful implementation of the project.
The project is now ready for implementation and public hearing for setting of said plant at Bhitragada will be held on 25 April.
Executive Officer, Paradip Municipality Mr Dillip Kumar Mohanty said,”decks have been cleared for the World Bank funded solid waste management project in Paradip Port. The project is of great significance to a growing industrial township like Paradip. The project will include a state-of-the-art solid waste treatment plant installed to treat and process the waste with modern technology.” Paradip is an industrial town.
With the pace of urbanisation and increase of population in every years, the generation of solid waste has been increased tremendously hence the state government had planned to set up the project.
The huge volume of solid waste generated every day from the port town is sent to a dump yard on the outskirts of the port township. The slum dwellers living close to the dumping yard at Bangalipada protested.
Realising it, state government in its integrated coastal zone management project (ICZM) had planned to build a solid waste management plant over 20 acres of land in Paradip in 2009.
Non-availability of required land was the main hurdle.Earlier, Paradip Municipality had identified 20 acres of land at Bhitragada for the project but later selected Kansaripatana and five other spots.