On December 6, 2021, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The agreement was signed under the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0. It was signed to strengthen the waste management sector in the country.
About the MoU
- Under the MoU, the UNDP will help in setting up 75 Smart Swachhata Kendras in the country.
- Also, the UNDP will help India on integrating the informal waste pickers. It will assist India in linking them with government welfare schemes.
- The MoU also included digitizing the waste flow and streamlining activities in Swachhata Kendras. It will encourage the use of machine learning and Artificial Intelligence in measures adopted under Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0.
- According to the MoU, the UNDP will assist India in solid waste management and used water management.
- Also, the UNDP will help India to promote and replicate sustainable model for waste management.
Why was the MoU signed?
The MoU will help Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0 to achieve its zero waste target. Also, it was signed to bring about improvement in the lives of informal waste pickers.
What is the significance of the MoU?
Solid waste management is the key focus of Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban. It focuses on scientific processing of municipal solid waste and source segregation of waste. The MoU will further strengthen the solid waste management.
How will the MoU benefit India?
- It will aid India in achieving its vision of making cities “Garbage Free”.
- It will help in achieving 100% waste processing as aimed by Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban 2.0.
- The MoU aims to realize the vision of “Clean Air, Clean Water, Clean Land” in urban India. This is to be achieved through a circular approach based on 3R (reduce, reuse and recycle) principle.
How has UNDP helped SBM so far?
- The UNDP facilitated the processing of 82,000 MT of plastic since 2018.
- It has helped India in establishing 20_ Swachhata Kendras or Material Recovery Facilities.
- Along with Niti Aayog, UNDP developed a Handbook on Sustainable Urban Plastic Waste Management. It gives insight on comprehending the main challenge of SBM-U, which is, stress on urban local bodies on delivering the waste management services. It also discusses successful national and international cases.