Similarly, 25 ULBs have been certified as Garbage Free Star-1, 01 ULBs as Garbage Free Star-3, 46 ULBs as Water+, 53 ULBs as ODF++, 43 ULBs as ODF+ and 22 ULBs as ODF.

Giving details of the initiatives taken by the State Government led by Chief Minister Sardar Bhagwant Singh Mann on behalf of the Local Government Department during the current year, Punjab has managed legacy waste in 131 ULBs under the Legacy Solid Waste Disposal of the State.

Out of the total 84.09 lakh metric tons of legacy waste, 40.78 lakh MT has already been disposed of while the remaining 43.31 lakh MT of solid waste (35 ULBs) is planned to be disposed of by April 2027.

Dr. Ravjot Singh informed that during the year 2025, special attention was given to the management of fresh solid waste, under which door-to-door waste collection, source segregation and processing were improved by ULBs.

He informed that out of the total 4008 TPD of solid waste, 3243 TPD (81%) of wet waste is being processed through composting and bio-methanization and dry waste is being processed by channelization which can be recycled by scrap dealers and garbage collectors. He informed that 9812 tricycles and 3162 mechanized vehicles have been deployed for garbage collection and transportation. 8436 Compost Pits (Aerobic Honeycomb) and 276 Material Recovery Facilities have been set up for waste processing.

The Cabinet Minister informed that under the Smart Cities Mission, various projects in Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Sultanpur Lodhi are in progress. Under Ludhiana Smart City Project, 71 projects worth Rs. 769.18 crore have been completed, while 08 projects worth Rs. 138.05 crore are under development. Under the Amritsar Smart City project, 19 projects worth Rs 580 crore have been completed and 10 projects worth Rs 245 crore are in progress.

Similarly, 56 projects worth Rs 771.57 crore have been completed and 04 projects worth Rs 162.88 crore are under development in Jalandhar Smart City. Under Sultanpur Lodhi Smart City, 06 projects worth Rs. 29.57 crore have been completed and 14 projects worth Rs. 136.28 crore are in progress. Further, since March 2022, infrastructure works worth Rs. 850 crores have been taken up in 166 ULBs from funds provided by the Government of Punjab through PIDB.

Also, M.C. Development works worth Rs. 1700 crore have been carried out in 166 ULBs and development works worth Rs. 450 crores in 05 Municipal Corporations and 49 Municipal Councils from the funds.

Dr. Ravjot Singh informed that 1200 old diesel auto rickshaws have been replaced with new electric autos under the Auto-Rickshaw Revival (RAAHI) scheme aimed at reducing air pollution in the holy city of Amritsar. In addition, 200 Pink e-Autos have also been provided to women beneficiaries at 90% subsidy to empower women.

He said that Amritsar (100), Jalandhar (97), Ludhiana (100), Patiala (50) and SAS (50) have been roped in to provide efficient public transport system with zero emissions in major cities of the state. A total of 447 e-buses are being procured for the Nagar (Mohali) cluster (100), which will improve the public transport system and reduce dependence on private vehicles.

Dr. Ravjot Singh informed that the door-step delivery of services has been successfully started by the Local Government Department, which has significantly increased the convenience of the citizens. He informed that major municipal services have been made accessible without visiting government offices.

The Minister further informed that GIS-based digitization of water supply and sewerage network has been completed for 16 AMRUT towns and Sultanpur Lodhi. He informed that an incentive of Rs 32 crore has been received under the ‘Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) 2024-25’ scheme. Along with this, sewerage mapping for 103 ULBs and water supply mapping for 105 ULBs have been finalized.