ITANAGAR: 20 May: Urban Affairs minister Balo Raja urged the Centre to review the per-capita funding pattern under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) 2.0 (Urban) for Arunachal and other Northeastern states during the two-day national review meeting on SBM 2.0 (Urban) held in New Delhi.

Addressing the meeting, Raja said that the current funding pattern, which is based on per-capita urban population, deprives Arunachal of adequate funding due to the state’s low population and vast area.

Urban Affairs commissioner Vivek Pandey and Urban Local Bodies director Hano Takka also participated in the deliberations and shared the state’s initiatives and challenges in implementing SBM 2.0 (Urban).

The meeting focused on key areas relating to strengthening urban sanitation and solid waste management systems across the country.

Major topics discussed during the meeting included institutional strengthening for effective project implementation, visible cleanliness initiatives, and reigniting people’s participation with special emphasis on heritage and tourist destinations.

Discussions were also held on source segregation, waste collection and transportation systems, material recovery facilities, refuse-derived fuel management, waste-to-electricity initiatives, organic waste management, waste-to-compost projects, and legacy waste remediation.

Special emphasis was laid on strengthening implementation mechanisms in the Northeastern states.

The meeting also provided an overview of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026, the directions of the Supreme Court on urban sanitation and waste management.

Detailed discussions were also held with states on implementation challenges and strategies for urban areas.