Mumbai, July 14 (IANS) Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday in the state assembly announced that a separate cell will be set up to resolve the problems faced by the municipal corporations and municipalities in the state in waste management.

He was responding to a question raised by BJP legislator Vijay Deshmukh in this regard. Members Abhimanyu Pawar and Arjun Khotkar also raised a sub-question.

Shinde said that the work of disposing of the waste collected daily from Solapur city in a scientific manner is being done by Solapur Bioenergy Company Limited. A biogas project with a capacity of 300 tons per day is operating here, and biogas and fertiliser are produced from wet waste, while dry waste is separated and sent to processing industries.

“Proper classification of waste in municipalities and municipal corporations is essential. Instructions have already been given to the Principal Secretary of the Urban Development Department to resolve the problems of small municipalities and municipal corporations in this regard. The state government will provide necessary assistance to all such places. The Principal Secretary of the Urban Development Department will be instructed to verify the resolutions so that the process of taking resolutions in the municipality remains transparent at all times,” he said.

Minister of State Madhuri Misal said that in Solapur city, garbage is collected from house to house using bell carts. However, there is a problem that garbage accumulates in some slum areas even after the bell carts are used. Currently, about seven lakh tons of waste have been dumped in Solapur city. Of this, about five lakh tons of waste have been collected.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Chief Minister, in his reply to another question by Shiv Sena UBT legislator Bhaskar Jadhav, announced that inquiry will be conducted through the Divisional Commissioner in connection with two different schemes used for water supply works being carried out under the Maharashtra Golden Jayanti Urban Redevelopment Mission in the jurisdiction of Chakan Municipal Council.

“Under the Maharashtra Golden Anniversary Urban Redevelopment Mission, the water supply work under the district level scheme of Chakan Municipal Council was given administrative approval on February 24, 2024 and work order on March 13, 2024. Although an extension has been given till March 31, 2025, the Chakan Municipal Council has proposed to recover the delay penalty for non-completion of the work by the contractor. However, when it was observed that orders had also been given under the state-level scheme at the same place, instructions were given to the concerned on May 13, 2025, to stop the work, and no payment has been made from the state-level scheme,” he said.

–IANS

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