Yogesh K Porwar & Avanth Kumar Kankaria
H.E.Ugo Astuto,Ambassador of the European Union to India along with,Benoit Sauveroche,First Counsellor,Delegation of the European Union to India,Ms.Renita Bhaskar,Minister Counsellor, Head of Trade and Economic Affairs,Delegation of the European Union to India,Fridech Birgelen, Deputy Consul General,Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany,Dr.Rachna Arora, Team Leader,European Union,Resource Efficiency Initiative,India,Jai Kumar Gaurav,Senior Advisor, Climate Change and Circular Economy,GIZ India,Mohammed Idris,Technical Advisor,Climate Change and Circular Economy, GIZ India, conducted a joint site visit to one of the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Management facilities in Koromangala with Sarfarz Khan,Joint Commissioner,SWM,BBMP.
He afterwards met,Gaurav Gupta,IAS,Chief Commissioner,Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
The European Union and the German Federal Ministry of the Environment and Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) funded Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA) Support Project titled ‘Waste Solutions for a Circular Economy in India’ will support Bengaluru in transition to low-carbon MSW Management technologies in line with circular economy principles.
The project aims to provide technical and financial support to BBMP for setting up new plants and revamping of existing Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs), compost facilities and bio-methanation plants.
The project will also support in creating a role-model source segregation system through citizen engagement and demonstrating models for integrating the informal sector in Bengaluru.
Bengaluru is one of the five lighthouse cities chosen for the NAMA Support project funded under the NAMA Facility.
Other locations include Goa,Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu),Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh),and the North Delhi Municipal Corporation.The project is being implemented by GIZ.
The project has the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) as the nodal Ministry and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) as the implementation partner ministry.
The project is working with various state bodies as well. The project will also support lighthouse cities including Bengaluru in capacity building of its staff on low-carbon waste management solutions as well as facilitate technological collaboration with the European companies in this area.
The project will help to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions,landfill space and lead to improved recovery of resources.
It also aims at increasing awareness on source segregation of waste by conducting campaigns on associated environmental pollution and health risks and facilitating availability of low-carbon solutions for waste treatment technologies towards circular economy.
Solid waste management in line with circular economy principles is a key area of collaboration between the EU and India.Talking about the project, Ambassador Ugo Astuto said, “Through this project, the EU is happy to cooperate with India and Bengaluru Authorities in fostering the transition to low-carbon technologies in the area of solid waste.”
Gaurav Gupta,Chief Commissioner, BBMP extended a warm welcome to the delegation and assured his support for the project implementation.
He said,The transition to circular economy is a priority for the city and the role of international cooperation in facilitating knowledge and experience exchange is crucial.
He further proposed preparing a vision document for MSW Management for the city of Bengaluru along with stock-take of the ongoing initiatives.
European Union – India collaboration on Circular Economy.Both the EU and India have already taken steps towards circular economy transition and are creating enabling framework to foster innovation.
In July 2020,the EU and India adopted a Joint Declaration to establish an ‘India-EU Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy Partnership’ that aims to support and strengthen dialogue and cooperation between the EU and India in these areas.
Implementation of this Partnership can provide opportunities for creating an enabling ecosystem, synergies,and symbiosis for enabling RE & CE in India.
The EU-Resource Efficiency Initiative (EU-REI) is a joint cooperation project between the EU Delegation to India and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change which aims to mainstream RE & CE in the Indian economy and industry based on a
life-cycle approach.
Gaurav Gupta,Chief Commissioner, BBMP expressed interest to collaborate on management of specialized waste like Construction and Demolition (C&D)waste,as it is a major concern for BBMP.
He suggested that a plan for management of C&D waste,including collection,transport,storage,processing and use of final products should be prepared.
About the EU and EU-India Ties The EU,which consists of 27 countries,has the world’s second largest economy and its third largest population, after China and India.
Though richly diverse, the countries that make up the EU (its’Member States’) are all committed to the same basic values: peace, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights.
By creating a frontier-free single market and a single currency (the euro)which has been adopted by 19 Member States,the EU has given a significant boost to trade and employment. It is also at the forefront of global policies on sustainability.
EU-India relations:
For over 55 years, the EU and India have worked together to reduce poverty, prevent disasters, expand trade, secure global public goods, enhance security around the world and 
promote joint research in energy, health, agriculture, and many other fields of mutual interest.
