The government has intended to link road construction with the Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has developed a policy regarding the use of inert waste. The Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, stated that his government has developed a draft policy to encourage the use of alternative fuels in construction equipment.
Draft a policy on the use of Inert Waste Material
- The Draft Policy on Inert Waste Material uses inert materials obtained from solid waste to build embankments alongside national highways.
- This initiative aims to reduce costs and reliance on fossil fuels.
- The ministry is also exploring a strategy to blend reclaimed wastewater and old tyres with bitumen for road construction.
- They hope that the policy will raise demand for and consumption of solid waste, as it did with fly ash.
Examples
- The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has already used inert material from municipal solid waste in road construction under the following projects:
- The Dholera project in Ahmedabad
- The first stretch of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway
- Urban Extension Road II that connects NH 44
- Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway on NH 48 in Delhi
- The garbage from Delhi's three landfill sites in Ghazipur, Okhla and Bhalaswa will be utilised to build the capital's third ring road, Urban Extension Road (UER)-II.
- Urban Extension Road-II, or NH-344M, is a 75.7 km long, 6-lane and 4-lane wide access-controlled motorway in Delhi NCR, India.
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
- The Prime Minister of India started the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) on October 2, 2014.
- The goal of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was to eliminate open defecation in the country by 2019.
Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) 2.0
- Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) 2.0 was launched in February 2021 under the "Health and Wellbeing" sector.
- The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) will carry out the mission.
- It was launched on October 1, 2021, to achieve the 'Garbage Free Cities' vision for the next five years.
- It would be implemented during five years, from 2021 to 2026.
- The Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 aims to make cities fully garbage-free.