Ghaziabad receives Rs 122 cr for SWM

The Directorate of Uttar Pradesh urban bodies has distributed funds worth Rs 720 crores to the state’s “seven million-plus” cities. Ghaziabad has received a grant from the Fifteenth Finance Commission (FFC) for the fiscal year 2022–2023 amounting to Rs 122 crores. According to representatives of the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation, the money is only intended for sanitation and solid waste management (SWM).

The last time Ghaziabad received FFC money totaling 121 crores (for fiscal 2020–21), the funds were to be split equally for improving solid waste management and putting pollution abatement measures into place. This time, though, there has been no money set aside for reducing pollution. However, according to officials, the Commission of Air Quality Management has approved a budget of 15 crores for Ghaziabad to reduce pollution.

The majority of the funding allocated for 2022–2023 will go toward SWM initiatives and sanitation. The city claims it wants to build solid waste transfer stations in each of the five corporation zones and take care of the legacy waste that was deposited in Indirapuram, reports Hindustan Times.