India's Urban Waste Processing Efficiency Soars To 76%: Puri

India's management of urban waste has made remarkable progress, increasing from a mere 17 per cent in 2014 to over 76 per cent, as highlighted by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri at the 7th ISC-FICCI Sanitation Awards Ceremony.

 

Puri attributed the favourable transition to programmes led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which encouraged a shift in attitudes towards hygiene.

 

He emphasised the importance of AMRUT and the Swachh Bharat Mission in this sanitation campaign. The minister added that the Swachh Bharat Mission, which involved building 6.3 lakh public and 63 lakh individual toilets, effectively tackled the issue of open defecation in metropolitan areas.

 

Puri also underlined AMRUT's important role in improving the infrastructure for urban sanitation. By installing 172 lakh water tap connections and 135 lakh sewer connections throughout cities, the mission significantly contributed to the reduction of the disparity in access to basic sanitation.

 

As part of the event, a compendium titled "Cities in Crisis: Best Practices on Curbing Plastic Waste across Urban India" was unveiled. This compendium features twenty case studies from nineteen organisations, offering diverse solutions to tackle the plastic waste crisis in urban areas.