(UDHAYAM, COLOMBO) – Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday (05) assured that the Government will find a lasting solution to the country’s waste management problem.
Responding to a question raised by Parliamentarian Bimal Ratnayake in Parliament the Prime Minister said the Government will not give up the responsibility of solid waste management and will find a long-term solution to the problem. Meanwhile, short term solutions have already been introduced to ease this problem in large cities, he said.
He said a committee comprising the Local Authorities, Police and Security Forces, and Professors of the Moratuwa University has been appointed to study the problem and find solutions to dispose the solid waste. Compost fertiliser manufacturing machines will be installed throughout the island and the Government has also focused attention to generate electricity by using garbage, he added.
He said the Local Authorities have been given instructions to devise waste disposal and management measures appropriate for their respective localities and resources needed for those measures have been approved.
He said garbage from Colombo, Dehiwala, and Kolonnawa could be disposed at Aruwakkaru in Puttalam for 20-years and that the recycling of garbage at Muthurajawela would be expanded soon.
The Prime Minister said measures have been taken with the assistance of private sector to recycle the non-degradable waste.
He said the Government has allocated Rs. 2 billion for waste disposal in 2017 and expects to increase that to Rs. 4 billion next year.
The Prime Minister in conclusion said the Government will take every possible measure to hand over a garbage-free debt-free country to the future generations.
Courtesy: Colombo Page
