Aafrin Kidwai 
North Goa authorities have started the process of preparing their district environment plan (DEP) as directed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in September. The DEP will contribute to the finalisation of the state environment plan, which in turn will be included in the national environment plan (NEP).
The DEP, which is expected to be ready by December-end, will give details of various waste treatment facilities, infrastructure for waste collection, financial status of urban local bodies and pollution abatement strategies.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has developed a model that district collectors may use for preparing the DEP. The model DEP covers seven thematic areas by capturing basic information on 64 parameters through 220 data points.
Navhind Times reports that district collectors will be required to prepare an inventory of total solid waste and domestic hazardous waste generation in million tonne per day, quantity of segregated waste generated, number of old dumpsites and sanitary landfills, and compliance by bulk waste generators.
Based on state environmental plans, the CPCB and the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change shall prepare the NEP, under the supervision of the MoEF&CC secretary and the CPCB chairman by January 31 and submit it to the green watchdog by February 15, 2020. The NEP document is being drafted to address issues related to waste management and pollution in the country.
More than a 100 districts across India have already submitted their reports to the CPCB.
Picture Credit: Inshaanshah62 at English Wikipedia, North Goa Political Map, CC BY-SA 3.0
