Indian Railways have taken various initiatives to reduce, recycle and dispose plastic waste generated at stations in an eco-friendly manner. Western Railway has been in the forefront to take ahead this initiative in the right direction and has introduced a slew of pioneering initiatives for conservation of our environment.
One such noble initiative has been to install Plastic Bottle Crushing Machines (PBCMs) at strategic and prominent locations at stations, in order to motivate passengers to dispose of plastic waste in a responsible manner. In continuation to this, it has been decided that 25 more such machines will be installed at various stations of WR’s Mumbai division in near future, under Non-Fare Revenue module.
According to a press release issued by Shri Ravinder Bhakar- Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, various specific efforts and initiatives have been undertaken by Western Railway under the dynamic leadership of Shri Alok Kansal – General Manager of Western Railway.
It is pertinent to mention that, a total of 16 Bottle Crushing Machines have already been installed under CSR at various stations of Mumbai Division viz., Churchgate (1), Mumbai Central (3), Bandra Terminus (2), Andheri (2), Borivali (1), Vapi (1), Valsad (1), Navsari (1), Udhana (1), Surat (3) and six more are under process of installation through CSR at Churchgate (1), Charni Road (1), Mumbai Central (1), Dadar (1), Vasai Road (1) and Valsad (1).
Shri Bhakar stated that if these Plastic Bottle Crushing Machines are procured though expenditure module, the same will cost around Rs. 3,50,000/- per machine including the cost of the machine as well as other incidental expenses.
Instead of procurement of Plastic Bottle Crushing Machines on expenditure module, Mumbai Division decided to acquire these machines on earning module with a dual objective of to curb expenditure and to earn Non-Fare Revenue, wherein Plastic Bottle Crushing Machines provider will get the opportunity to earn through the display of advertisements on Plastic Bottle Crushing Machines as well as the sale of plastic flakes collected in the machine.
With continuous and enthusiastic efforts of Non-Fare Revenue (NFR) team, W. Rly’s Mumbai Division has braved every odds in this challenging scenario of COVID – 19 pandemics and has been successful in tapping an offer of Rs.15,000/- per annum with 5 year earning potential of Rs.82,985/- wherein bidder will provide as well as maintain 25 Plastic Bottle Crushing Machines approx costing Rs. 3,50,000/- each for 5 years at 16 stations viz. Churchgate (4), Mumbai Central (3), Lower Parel (1), Prabhadevi (1), Dadar (2), Matunga Road (1), Mahim (1), Bandra (1), Bandra Terminus (2), Andheri (2), Malad (1), Kandivali (1), Borivali (2), Vasai Road (1), Nalasopara (1) & Virar (1) stations.
With this commendable effort, Western Railway has not only garnered an additional revenue to the tune of Rs. 82,985/- (5 years earning potential) in the form of license fees, but has also saved the cost of procurement of these machines which will run into anywhere around Rs. 87,50,000/-.
Shri Bhakar stated that W. Rly fully supports the ban on single use plastic items and hence it has banned the use of plastic cups, glasses, plates etc. WR also runs ‘No Plastic’ awareness campaigns from time-to-time to spread awareness about the ill effects of plastic on the environment. W. Rly urges its esteemed passengers to join hands with us in this noble cause in order to conserve our Mother Nature for the better future of our coming generations.