CSE congratulates Muzaffarpur on being selected as Smart City

Says it’s a major boost for the city’s ongoing initiatives on waste management

• Muzaffarpur among 30 new smart cities -- announced by Ministry of Urban Development

• Smart City Mission to allocate funds to these cities for development in sectors such as infrastructure, waste, sanitation and e-governance

• Earlier this year, Muzaffarpur received positive marks on its solid waste management initiatives

• CSE and Muzaffarpur Municipal Corporation’s joint initiative, the Swachhtha Swasthya Samridhi programme, has already seen seven wards of the city adopting decentralised waste management -- city plans 100 per cent decentralised waste management by September 2017

New Delhi, June 23, 2017: Muzaffarpur has joined the ranks of India’s smart cities – it was designated a smart city here today by the Union ministry of urban development (MoUD). In an event organised at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi, Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu announced a list of 30 cities that will be developed as smart cities. Muzaffarpur is one of these cities. 

Congratulating the people of Muzaffarpur, Chandra Bhushan, deputy director general, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said: “This nomination is a step in the right direction as it will provide the necessary finances and impetus for Muzaffarpur to transform itself into a city of the future. The announcement also provides vital encouragement for CSE, which has been helping the city adopt a modern decentralised waste management system.” 

The Union government had launched its flagship ‘100 Smart Cities Mission (SCM)’ on June 25, 2015. The first list of 20 cities was announced in January 2016. Another 13 cities were selected in the fast-track round in May 2016, and 27 more smart cities were announced in the second round in September 2016. Bhagalpur was the only city from Bihar to be selected in the earlier rounds. In the third round of cities announced today, Muzaffarpur and Patna have been selected as smart cities from the state. 

Towards Smart Muzaffarpur
The cities selected under the Smart Cities Mission will receive Rs 500 crore over a period of five years from both the Centre and the state. Of this, Rs 200 crore will be disbursed in the first financial year after selection and the remaining will be released in installments of Rs 100 crore per year. This amount shall be allocated for redevelopment of the city and will focus specifically on sectors like e-governance, energy management, waste management, water management, infrastructure development and other projects such as establishment of skill development centres, tele-education services and trade centres.

“What is important is the Smart Cities Mission allows cities to formulate their own concept, vision, mission and plan for a Smart City that is appropriate to its local context, resources and levels of ambition,” said Swati Singh Sambyal, programme manager-solid waste management, CSE.

“Muzaffarpur is already undergoing rapid transformation in areas of sanitation and solid waste management. The recognition and the financial support will go a long way in bolstering and speeding up the work being done in this direction,” said Bhushan.

CSE’s ongoing work in Muzaffarpur
On December 15, 2016, the ‘Swachhtha Swasthya Samridhi’ programme was launched in Muzaffarpur.  Under the programme, 49 wards of the city are to be transformed into clean wards by September 2017 through the joint efforts of CSE and Muzaffarpur Municipal Corporation. CSE is also working on wastewater management in the city.

To date, seven wards of the city – or one circle – have started segregation at source and have adopted decentralised waste management. Waste collectors in these wards are being incentivised to collect segregated waste. The food waste is being composted whereas the dry waste (paper, plastic etc.) is channelised to recyclers. Over a period of six months, waste collectors in every ward will be trained and volunteers will propagate the message of segregation at source across the city. In addition, Muzaffarpur is also planning to adopt a modern decentralised system of wastewater management. 

“We want Muzaffarpur to be quoted as an example of effective waste management and sanitation in Bihar – a model that can be replicated in not only other cities and towns of Bihar but the whole of North India,” said Bhushan. “Our goal is to make Muzaffarpur one of the cleanest cities in India,” he added.

Substantial gains in Swachh Survekshan ranking 2017 this year 
Muzaffarpur also received encouraging results on several parameters of the recent Swachh Survekshan, 2017 that were announced in May, this year. The city got an overall score of 782 out of 2000, securing points for putting in place systems of solid waste management based on household level segregation, collection and recycling. 

“Creating smart cities would entail development of basic infrastructure like adequate water supply, electricity supply, sustainable sanitation and solid waste management mechanism, efficient urban mobility, affordable housing and ensuring robust IT connectivity and e-governance. Muzaffarpur is already on this path in terms of waste and wastewater management. This announcement will definitely encourage the municipal corporation and the Citizens of Muzaffarpur to work towards a bright, sustainable and SMART future,” said Chandra Bhushan.

 

For further details contact: Vrinda Nagar, CSE Media Resource Centre, at 9654106253/ vrinda.nagar@cseindia.org