Interview

(0:00) Namaste, I am Priyanshi Dimmi Soparivala, a student of Aravalli International School and (0:06) this here is Dr. Sameer Vasishth, an Urban Infrastructure and Environmental Analyst with (0:13) us here today and we are doing an exclusive interview of him while we look into the waste (0:19) management of Faridabad being the industrial capital of Haryana. (0:24) So sir, first of all, thank you for joining us here today, it's an honor to have you here. (0:31) Thank you, thank you for the opportunity.

(0:33) Can you give us a brief into how the city manages its waste? (0:38) Certainly, if you look at the Faridabad overall scenario, you see lot of industrial plants (0:45) are situated around Faridabad, roughly around 25,000 plants are there, so the city has a (0:52) very complex system of managing the waste to understand the industrial as well as the (0:58) domestic waste management system. (1:00) So we have a network of rickshaws and dumpsters which go to household as well as industry (1:08) and collect the waste. (1:10) So basically, there are common effluent treatment plants for the industrial waste which are (1:16) set up at various locations.

(1:19) Can you tell us more about the industrial waste management? (1:24) Currently, if you look, the industrial waste or what we call as commercial waste are actually (1:30) treated in a village named Bali. (1:33) So the large scale plants, we encourage them to have in-house facilities so they can, the (1:41) treatments like chemicals, oils, effluents, they can be treated in their facilities especially (1:47) but wherever there are small players, small industries, so there we have common effluent (1:54) treatment plants which the government has mandated all the small industries to go through (2:02) there only because it is easier to manage in that way. (2:06) I see.

(2:08) Sir, but the question arises in our minds that why despite all of this, does Faridabad (2:13) come in the top 10 dirtiest cities of India? (2:16) Yes, there is currently an infrastructure gap and the government has acknowledged it. (2:26) However, in the Haryana government budget, as you are aware, there is almost 170 crore (2:32) allocated for the new 8 treatment plants which are soon to be under manufacturing and the (2:40) target for operational efficiency is around 31st of December, 2027. (2:46) So that is a great way forward.

(2:50) The government has understood the requirement and the urgency for it. (2:55) Secondly, if you look at the non-performing private contractors, the government has taken (3:01) actions against them, namely Eco Green Energy. (3:05) So the government is noticing the requirement and the growing city needs and basically the (3:14) final location is to bridge the gap.

(3:20) Finally, what should we as responsible residents of Faridabad do to improve the situation? (3:27) See, if you look at overall India scenario, cities like Surat, Indore, they have actually (3:33) come up in a very big way for cleanliness. (3:37) First is the discipline by the city itself, the people itself. (3:41) Secondly, the waste management gets easier if you segregate into dry, wet as well as (3:47) hazardous waste.

(3:49) So we encourage the citizens of Faridabad to have that discipline, to take exam from (3:56) the other parts of India. (3:58) Also, based on, we also encourage the household needs of the private societies. (4:07) So the RWA needs society to at least trust the private players and because the municipality (4:14) is already overloaded, so we can give it to the private players, they can ensure a better (4:20) disposal of the waste.

(4:23) Thank you so much for your precious time here today. (4:25) It was a memorable conversation we had and I am sure, as aware Faridabadis, we gained (4:32) a lot from you, sir. (4:33) Thank you.

(4:33) Thank you.