PESHAWAR, Oct 26: The provincial government’s delay in allocating land for a compost plant has put the scheme of collecting and recycling solid waste in Peshawar into cold storage.

The failure to release funds for the solid waste compost plant aimed at disposing of 1,200 tones of solid waste generated by two million people of the provincial metropolis every day forced the authorities to shelve the plan in April this year.

The city district government had started negotiations with a private firm to establish the plant on the city outskirts. The funds for the purchase of land for the plant were not released, putting the plan in jeopardy. Due to lack of interest on the part of the provincial government, no progress is being made on this score.

“The municipal department had selected a 120-kanal plot along the Ring Road for the plant but the main hurdle is the allocation of funds — Rs80 million — needed for the purchase of the land,” a City Development and Municipal Department (CDMD) official told this correspondent.

Director General CDMD, Fazl-ur-Rehaman, said that CDMD would be working as a facilitator and coordinator in the execution of the project.

The department had even signed an agreement with a Lahore-based firm which was supposed to set up the plant with Belgium-made technology to convert solid waste into manure.

The company was to collect waste and bear the transportation cost. In addition, it was to pay Rs20 per ton to scavengers, according to the agreed terms, a CDMD official said.

The collection and disposal of garbage is one of the major problems the provincial metropolis is faced with. The land pollution in urban areas is on the rise.

According to a survey report of the Environment Protection Agency, 587 tons of solid waste is generated daily in Peshawar. Only 61 per cent of it is collected.