New Delhi, Sep 29 (PTI) Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri Thursday said plans to remediate over 1,000 legacy dumpsites, including those in Delhi, containing 12.8 crore metric tonnes of waste, have been approved by his ministry with a total cost of over Rs 8,000 crore.

The Housing and Urban Affairs Minister said that all legacy dumpsites, having 16 crore metric tonnes of waste, and occupying around 15,000 acres of prime land, will be “remediated” in the second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission period under the 'Lakshya Zero Dumpsite Challenge'.

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The minister was addressing the inaugural of 'Swachh Shehar Samvad and Tech Exhibition' which is a capacity building initiative of the SBM(U) 2.0 to equip states and cities with an understanding of all recent developments in waste management, the ministry said.

According to a statement issued by the ministry, Puri at the event said that waste processing capacities of urban local bodies in the country have increased from a mere 18 per cent in 2014 to 73 per cent at present, adding that the government is now accelerating implementation to reach 100 per cent saturation at the earliest.

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"I am proud to note that action plans for over 1,000 legacy dumpsites — including those in Delhi — containing 12.8 crore metric tonnes waste have been approved by MoHUA, with total project cost of more than 8,000 crore rupees, of which the Centre is contributing almost 3,000 crore rupees," statement quoted him as saying at the event.

He said that as a result of efforts under SBM, all 4,372 urban local bodies in India have now been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF).

"Not only did we build over 73.45 lakh individual and community toilets, we also restored dignity and health to millions of urban poor, including the Divyang Jan," he said.

The tech exhibition showcasing “best-in-class” models in waste management from across the country is also a part of the ‘Samvad'.

Around 35 technology providers are demonstrating cutting edge technology in waste management.

The ministry said that on display are working models of several aspects of solid waste management and sanitation.

The models inform one about such techniques such as IT and GIS based applications, used water management, packaging options, reducing, recycling, and reusing tech, processing of municipal solid waste, mobile and portable units, construction and demolition waste, and other corrective measures.

"We are now targeting to go from an ODF India to a 'Garbage-Free India'," Puri said.

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