Panchkula to install horticulture waste plant

Panchkula: On the lines of Chandigarh, the discarded horticulture waste will now get processed as the Panchkula municipal corporation is going to install a horticultural waste disposal plant in Industrial Area Phase 1. The plant will be equipped with a briquette machine, hammer mill, flash dryer, and pollution control system. This project, estimated at Rs 2.43 crore, aims to process the city's garden and horticultural waste, which is currently discarded and left unused.It was approved during the Finance and Contract Committee meeting of the civic body, which was chaired by mayor Kulbhushan Goyal on Tuesday.Chandigarh had opened its first dedicated horticulture waste processing plant at the Industrial Area, Phase II in Jan 2023. The plant has the capacity to process 30-40 tonnes of raw horticulture waste a day into briquettes. It is processed in a scientific manner to produce combustible products, and dumping in landfill sites is avoided. Similarly, if it comes up in Panchkula, the horticulture waste, which is being dumped here and there or at the dumping site, could be processed. Briquettes made with it can be used at the cremation ground or can be sold to industry. The MC can earn revenue with this.More CCTV camerasTo enhance public safety, the committee sanctioned Rs 2.35 crore for the installation of CCTV cameras in sectors 2 and 4 during the meeting. This is in addition to previous approvals for camera installations at community centres, markets, and along B Road. Addressing the shortage of sanitation workers, it was decided that outsourcing agencies would be deployed in specific sectors. The existing workforce from these sectors will be relocated to areas with higher demand. Approximately 200 additional workers and machinery will be engaged under this plan, for which Rs 4.80 crore has been approved.The F&CC also approved the extension of a sanitation initiative worth Rs 11 crore for door-to-door garbage collection, segregation, and transportation. The new tender has been awarded to Pooja Consolidation Company, which previously worked in Panchkula and will now continue the project for the next year. Mayor Goyal stated that the tender was approved earlier by urban local bodies minister Vipul Goyal in a high-level meeting held on Monday.Road safety and infrastructure enhancements also received attention. A Rs crore tender has been approved for applying thermoplastic road paint, reflectors, and studs on newly recarpeted roads in Sectors 2, 4, 20, and 25. In village Budhanpur, Rs 1.02 crore has been sanctioned for developing a cremation ground and park on a 7-acre plot, as Panchkula currently lacks such a facility.