Page 78 - Shelter - April 2023

CHAUPAL PE CHARCHA: WASTE MANAGEMENT, TECHNOLOGY
AND CIRCULARITY

Dehradun Cantonment Board hosted the “Doon Cantt Swachhta
Chaupal” on 3 and 4 February, 2023. This was a first time initiative
in Uttarakhand that brought together waste management start-ups
and companies, government officials, urban local bodies and NGOs
on one platform. The theme of the event was Waste Management,
Technology and Circularity and provided an opportunity to 51
entrepreneurs to exhibit their products to government officials who
are looking for best available technologies to combat challenges of
ever increasing waste. The Chaupal was supported by the Urban
Development Directorate, Government of Uttarakhand and was
organized in collaboration with Cantonment Board’s Knowledge
Partner; Social Development for Communities (SDC) Foundation.
Amongst the large number of attendees were Municipal
Commissioners and Executive Officers from Urban Local Bodies who
are spearheading the Swachh Bharat Mission initiatives, heads and
members of Zila Panchayat, Gram Panchayat, CEOs and Members
of Cantonment Boards, decisionmakers, elected representatives
and NGOs working in the field of sanitation who learnt about
new initiatives in the field of sanitation. Students from prestigious
colleges and government training institutes were also present in
large numbers. Several well-known national organizations such
as NEPRA, Aterro, Recykal, Saahas, and prominent startups such
as Padcare, Spruce Up and ShyanaEcounified participated in the
Chaupal.

One of the key highlights of the Chaupal was the launch of a
“Mountain Oriented Swachhta Technology Challenge”. The
Challenge is targeted at start-ups and students for designing a
machine for picking legacy garbage from valleys & slopes in towns,
tourist spots & across mountain states in India.

The Doon Cantt Swachhta Chaupal was inaugurated by Chief Guest,
Hon’ble Governor Uttarakhand, Lt Gen Gurmit Singh: PVSM, UYSM,
AVSM, VSM (Retired). Hon’ble Minister of Urban Development,
Government of Uttarakhand Shri Premchand Agrawal was the Chief Guest for the valedictory session.
Hon’ble Minister of Agriculture, Soldier Welfare and Rural Development, Government of Uttarakhand
Shri Ganesh Joshi presided over the closing ceremony. People present at the closing ceremony took a
pledge to make Uttarakhand clean and beautiful, to segregate garbage from their homes, not to use single
plastic and to associate at least five people with this campaign. Buoyed by the success of the inaugural
Chaupal, Cantonment Board has decided to make this an annual affair.
Anoop Nautiyal
(The writer is the founder of Dehradun Cantonment Board’s Knowledge Partner, the Dehradun based not-for-profit organization;
Social Development for Communities (SDC) Foundation).

76 HUDCO-HSMI Publication