The National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS), under the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change, has approved a pre-feasibility study in Darjeeling for integrated solid waste management for the Himalayan regions.

Bhupender Yadav, Union minister of MoEF & CC, in a letter to Darjeeling MP Raju Bista, said Rs 1.49 crore was sanctioned for the project.

Bista had on January 30, 2023, written to the minister in support of a proposal of Rakshak Kumar Acharya, of the CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh for an “intergrated scientific solutions for improving legacy municipal solid waste management in the Indian Himalayan region.”

Acharya had submitted proposals for Darjeeling and Kalimpong municipalities under the National Mission on Himalayan Studies.

“The proposal has been examined by the NMHS-Project Monitoring Unit and the same has been placed before the 10th Steering Committee of NMHS. It is to inform you that the proposal has been approved by the Steering Committee for a pre-feasibility study with one site demonstration (Darjeeling) in one year with a budget of Rs 1.49 crore,” Yadav stated in his letter to Bista.

Bista said that under this project researchers would seek to mechanise with advanced technologies such as segregation of legacy waste (waste kept in one area for years), recycling of plastic waste treatment, utilisation of construction and demolition waste, and processing of biodegradable waste.

“The segregated waste will be processed further and converted into various utilities such as organic waste into vermicompost, plastic waste into making flower pots, and construction waste into bricks,” said Bista.

The success of this project is likely to encourage the implementation of the project in other municipalities in the Himalayan region.