Rajkot: Lodhika industrial estate will soon install it’s own solid waste disposal plant in a bid to tackle the problem of haphazard dumping.The industrial estate near Metoda run by Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) houses nearly 1,100 units mostly from the engineering, plastic and food processing sectors. On the request of the industries association, the state government has allotted 20,000 sq m land adjacent to the estate to establish the solid waste disposal plant. The tender process to finalize a private firm to set up the facility has been initiated.The 1,000 units generate nearly 30 tons waste per day, which is of the nature of municipal solid waste and non-hazardous.President of Lodhika Industries Association, Bipin Advani, said: “We will be purchasing a segregation plant, a waste collection machine and begin door-to-door collection of waste from the units just like the civic body does.”A sweeping machine will also be used for continuous cleaning of roads in the estate.The solid waste plant will cost around Rs 8.50 crore out for which the state government will give 40% amount under Assistance for Industrial Infrastructure (AIS). The amount has already been sanctioned and the association is expecting the plant to be functional within a year.At present, the industrial units dispose their waste in an unorganized way. In many cases, the solid waste is also set on fire, which results in severe pollution in Lodhika and near-by villages. “Though a big chunk of solid waste was being disposed on pits, we are getting regular complaints from nearby villages about pollutio. So we decided to apply in this government scheme and set up our own disposal plant,” Advani added.The Lodhika industrial estate had won an Nirmal Gujarat Abhiyan in 2007-08 award as the cleanest estate in 2016-17.

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