Chhattisgarh: Ranked Second In Cleanliness, Ambikapur Now Gets A ‘Garbage Cafe’ Exchanging Plastic Waste For Food

Having been ranked as the second cleanest city in India after Indore in March earlier this year, Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh has come up with another idea to further enhance the city’s cleanliness, as reported by The New Indian Express.

The Ambikapur Municipal Corporation (AMC) setup a ‘garbage cafe’ in the city which will provide people free food in exchange for plastic waste. Half a kilogram of plastic can be exchanged for breakfast at the cafe and a kilogram for food, the Mayor Ajay Tirkey said.

"Our door-to-door waste collection process is already in place. We also re-sell plastic. The initiative will become successful. In the budget, we have allocated Rs 6 lakh for the cafe," he added.

However, the scheme has been criticised by some members of the AMC, saying that schemes already exist for meeting needs of the poor.

"Ambikapur Municipal Corporation stood at the second spot in the country in cleanliness. Under the schemes, it is proposed that rag picker would get a free meal for one kilogram of plastic and breakfast for half-kilogram plastic. A man gets Rs 20 in exchange of one kilogram of plastic. The scheme of Dr Raman Singh is already there which provides Rs 1 per kg grain. The initiative would fail soon," said Janmajay Mishra, Opposition Leader in AMC.

Several locals, however, praised the scheme saying that it will have a positive effect on the city.