Visakhapatnam: Municipal administration and urban development minister P. Narayana asserted that waste-to-energy plants being established in 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh will be most modern along the lines of those running in Singapore and Tokyo.
The minister, along with Bheemili MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao, visited the waste-to-energy plant near Kapuluppada dumping yard in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday. His visit is part of the AP’s ongoing efforts to enhance waste management infrastructure and address the persistent problems surfacing at the dump yard.
Talking to media during the visit, Narayana emphasised the significance of Kapuluppada project, describing it as the first waste-to-wealth initiative in the state. He highlighted the successful models of Singapore and Tokyo, where multiple waste plants effectively serve dense populations. He underlined the need for Andhra Pradesh to follow suit.
"Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has a vision to establish waste-to-energy plants across the 13 erstwhile districts of the state. Currently, the Visakhapatnam plant with a capacity of 1,500 tonnes and Guntur plant of 1,000 tonnes are operating," the minister pointed out.
He criticised the previous YSRC government for its failure to maintain the state's waste management systems, pointing out that no minister or MLAs of the erstwhile regime had ever visited the Kapuluppada dumping yard in the last five years.
Narayana underlined that Andhra Pradesh had suffered severe financial setbacks under the YSRC administration. It failed to utilise ₹454 crore of the first instalment of the 15th Finance Commission for municipal development. This, he said, resulted in the centre withholding an additional ₹300 crore. Furthermore, the state lost ₹298 crore of Swachh Bharat funds in 2021 due to the then government's negligence.
Narayana pledged to secure these central funds, which AP could not get due to mismanagement by the previous government.
Replying to a question, he clarified that the Chief Minister will soon decide on the future use of Rushikonda buildings.
