HYDERABAD: Stating that the Telangana government’s goal is to transform dumpyards into development centres, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Tuesday urged the Union government to extend financial support to states for implementing waste-to-energy, recycling and circular economy projects.
Speaking at the two-day National Review Meeting on Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, inaugurated by Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar at Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi, he called for a positive consideration for viability gap funding to establish modern infrastructure and scientific waste processing units in this sector.
The deputy chief minister also said that the state government is working towards building a sustainable, inclusive and environmentally responsible future in line with Telangana Vision 2047.
“Telangana is following the development framework of CURE, PURE and RARE, giving equal importance to the balanced growth of Core Urban Regions, Peri-Urban Regions and Rural Agricultural Regions,” he said.
Vikramarka observed that solid waste management is no longer limited to waste collection alone, but is directly linked to climate response, environmental sustainability, circular economy, employment generation and economic productivity.
“Solid Waste Management Rules 2026 recently introduced by the Union government are bringing transformative changes in the country’s waste management ecosystem. The new rules focus not only on conventional waste collection and dumping, but also on four-way source segregation, decentralised waste processing, scientific remediation of old dumpyards, waste-to-energy generation, technology-based monitoring, circular economy practices, ward-level accountability and public participation,” he said.
“Telangana had already initiated several such reforms even before the rules formally came into effect,” he added.
Introducing electric vehicles to reduce carbon emissions
Highlighting the state government’s initiatives, he said: “We are introducing around 9,596 electric Swachh Auto Tippers in core urban regions. These electric vehicles will help reduce carbon emissions from municipal operations and promote cleaner transportation systems.”
He said that the vehicles are being designed with separate compartments to facilitate four-way source segregation and QR-code based monitoring for efficient door-to-door waste collection.
Vikramarka further stated that Telangana is prioritising decentralised waste processing systems. “Wet waste is being processed closer to the point of generation, while dry waste is scientifically segregated and channelled into recycling and circular economy systems, thereby minimising the volume of waste reaching landfills. Transporting wet waste over long distances within cities is not only economically expensive but also environmentally unsustainable,” he noted, adding that decentralised wet waste processing centres are being established to scientifically process waste at the local level.
This, he said, would also improve the quality of RDF (Refuse-Derived Fuel) supplied to waste-to-energy plants.
The deputy chief minister stated that scientific remediation of legacy dumpyards is a major priority for the Telangana government. In the case of the Jawaharnagar dumpyard in Hyderabad, technical assistance and advisory support are being obtained from IIT Bombay, he said.
The objective, he explained, is not merely cosmetic intervention, but the creation of a long-term environmental management and continuous monitoring system.
He also informed that around 22 lakh metric tonnes of waste spread over nearly 40 acres at the Autonagar dumpsite is being processed through biomining, with nearly 30 per cent of the waste already processed. The reclaimed land, he said, would not be reused for dumping, but developed into parks, sports facilities and public infrastructure in the future.