Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has instructed officials to come up with a final policy on circular economy within 2 months to strengthen the waste management system in the state. In the first phase, he suggested setting up circular economy parks in 3 areas of the state within a year and increasing the use of modern machinery in waste-to-energy plants.
He held a high-level review on the circular economy at the Secretariat and directed that the garbage accumulated in the state be removed immediately. He wanted an action plan to be given on recycling and garbage separation within 90 days.
They mainly discussed wealth creation from waste and resource reuse. The proposals of the ‘Material Recycling Association of India’ on setting up ‘circular economy parks’ were examined.
As part of the first phase, the ‘Circular Economy Park’ to be set up on 400 acres in Visakhapatnam should be built on an international scale and parks in various countries should be examined for this. He wanted to ensure that huge investments come with these.
In addition to focusing on 11 sectors identified by the central government under the circular economy, such as municipal, vehicles, lithium batteries, gypsum, tires, rubber, electronics, agriculture, industrial, and aqua waste, the CM directed that additional activities be prepared with the mining, handloom, and animal husbandry departments.
Municipal corporations and panchayats should work towards achieving the zero waste target. The CM suggested that ‘Swachhata’ awards be given from October 2 next year as an incentive to those who have shown excellent performance in waste management.
He said that awards should be given to local bodies, self-help groups, anganwadis, schools-colleges, bus stands, hospitals, NGOs, and various organizations. It is estimated that if the circular economy can be implemented effectively in the state, an additional Rs. 15,000 crore will be added to the GSDP per year.
It was felt that there is a possibility of supplying another Rs. 10,000 crore worth of material to the manufacturing sector. With this value addition, the state is expected to earn Rs. 3,000 crore in GST every year.
The review expressed the view that in addition to the possibility of direct employment opportunities for 1,00,000 people, 10,000 micro entrepreneurs will be employed and 10 lakh people will be indirectly employed.