Clean city initiative can change the face of Pune: Adar Poonawalla

Poonawalla has invested Rs 100 crore in the initiative in terms of trucks, bins and setting up of the processing plant at Talegaon.

CEO of Serum Institute Adar Poonawalla’s decision to start India’s first Public Private Participation (PPP) initiative to tackle the problem of disposal of wet garbage in Pune stemmed from his desire to get rid of the “stigma attached to the city due to its rotting garbage heap”. On Thursday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launched the Adar Poonawalla Clean City Movement (APCC), a technology-based initiative launched in partnership with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). Poonawalla has invested Rs 100 crore in the initiative in terms of trucks, bins and setting up of the processing plant at Talegaon. Speaking to The Indian Express, Poonawalla said that the plans that could well change the face of Pune.

What prompted you to get into this initiative?
Management of wet waste is slowly and steadily becoming a nightmare. Heaps of rotting garbage littered on the roads not only give rise to diseases, but also attaches a stigma to the city. Instead of just talking about the issue, we decided to become a partner with the PMC to solve the problem. We have been working for about 18 months and Friday’s inauguration was the first phase of the initiative. In the first phase, we aim to tackle the problem along a 30-km road, and in the next two years, we hope to tackle the problem across the city. The total investment in the project is Rs 100 crore. We will be rolling out the project from the Dhole Patil ward.

Give us some details about the use of technology in this initiative.
In way of infrastructure, this initiative will see us providing trucks and bins at various parts of the city. The plant at Talegaon would be processing the wet waste in the most scientific and green manner. We would be using German technology to treat the waste and convert it into environmentally friendly gases. The process would see creation of 300-400 jobs and we intend to involve citizens in the process to tackle the problem. To do that, we would soon be launching an app. The app which can be downloaded on any smartphone can help citizens track unattended wet garbage. By clicking a picture of the bin the citizen can use the app to alert the command center about the unattended bin. We will track the position of the bin using GPS and will try to attend to it within an hour’s time. In order to popularise the usage we will be giving out points initially. Along with this project, we are also in the process of setting up bio-toilets. As I said, the initiative is for hygiene and sanitation.

Tell us more about the bio-toilets project. Where do you intend to implement it?
Access to clean and hygienic toilets is mandatory if we want to get rid of the problems of open defecation. We plan to install toilets that would be auto flush and we hope to install 300-400 such toilets in the next 7-8 months. Installation of the toilets would require permissions from the civic authorities for water and land. We plan to kick-start the project either in Mumbai or Pune depending where we get permission first. Along with male toilets, we plan to install women’s toilets also. The toilets would be auto flush and we are talking with various toilet manufacturers about the specifics now.

Other than Pune, where else do you plan to run this initiative?
We plan to go to Mumbai once the Pune initiative is a success. Pune’s experience would be a first for us. For this initiative, we have tied up with many experts in the field and our technology partner is Noble Exchange. Once the problem of wet garbage is tackled, we hope the city will be able to get rid of dengue, malaria and other diseases.

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