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Dr. Y. S. Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry, Solan

Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, was established on 1st December, 1985 with the objective to promote education, research and extension education in the fields of Horticulture, Forestry and allied disciplines. Late Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar, the first Chief Minister and the architect of Himachal Pradesh perceived the importance of Horticulture and Forestry to develop and improve the State economy which led to the establishment of this University. Its history lies in erstwhile Himachal Agricultural College, Solan, established in 1962 and affiliated to the Panjab University. It became one of the campuses of Agriculture Complex of Himachal Pradesh University on its formation in 1970. Consequent upon the establishment of Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya in 1978, this campus became its Horticulture Complex and finally in 1985, assumed the status of a State University, being the only University in the country engaged exclusively in teaching, research and extension in Horticulture and Forestry. The University is located at Nauni in Solan District of Himachal Pradesh, 13 km from Solan on Solan-Rajgarh Road, at an elevation of 1300 metres above mean sea level. Solan town is situated on national highway (NH-22) and is well connected by train and bus services. The University has four constituent colleges, out of which, two are located at the main campus Nauni, one for horticulture and the other for forestry, having 9 and 7 departments, respectively. The third College i.e., College of Horticulture & Forestry is located at Neri in Hamirpur District on Nadaun-Hamirpur state highway, about 6 Km from Hamirpur town and is well connected with bus service. The college offers three Undergraduate Degree Programmes i.e. BSc (Hons.) Horticulture, BSc (Hons.) Forestry and B. Tech. Biotechnology and MSc degree programme in a few subjects. The fourth college i.e. College of Horticulture and Forestry, Thunag (Mandi) is located at Thunag District Mandi. This college offer BSc (Hons.) Horticulture and BSc (Hons.) Forestry degree programme. In addition, there are five Regional Research Stations, 12 Satellite Stations and five Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) situated in different zones of the State.

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20231
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Subject: Environmental Science × Author: APURVA SHARMA × Start date: 1986 × Thesis Type: Ph.D ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    STUDIES ON ENVIRONMENTAL COMPATIBILITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE OF BASIC SERVICE DELIVERY ASSETS IN HIMACHAL PRADESH
    (UHF,NAUNI, 2023-05-26) APURVA SHARMA; S K BHARDWAJ
    ABSTRACT The present investigation entitled “Studies on environmental compatibility and climate change resilience of basic service delivery assets in Himachal Pradesh” was conducted in the Department of Environmental Science during the year 2020 and 2021. The study aimed to evaluate the environmental compatibility and climate change resilience of basic services with respect to sewage treatment plants, municipal solid waste and bio-medical waste management facilities in the state of Himachal Pradesh. A preliminary survey was conducted to identify the status of these infrastructures and their operating processes and purposeful selection of waste management facilities in the state was done to evaluate their impacts on important natural resources like soil, water and air. The greenhouse gas emission potential and life cycle assessment of the selected infrastructures was evaluated by using standard methodology. The study indicated that older STPs in the state have enhanced soil heavy metals like Cu (1.91 mg kg-1) and Pb (0.11 mg kg-1) in their vicinity. The geo-accumulation indices also indicated moderate contamination. Further, high levels of BOD (6.49 mg l-1), Cu (1.48 mg l-1) and Fe (0.33 mg l-1) in water sources also indicated incompatibility of STPs to the environment in HP. The STPs in Himachal Pradesh contributed to 48,237 tCO2 eq emissions of greenhouse gases in total and contributed 10 % to the total GHG emissions from waste management facilities. The GHG emissions from STPs of different capacities was in order of more than 3 MLD > 1-3 MLD > less than 1 MLD with respective values of 1,733, 719 and 581 tCO2 eq. The unkempt landfills had the most deteriorating impact on the environment as concentrations of Cu, Pb and Zn in soil were recorded as high as 1.97, 0.137 and 19.0 mg kg-1 under their influence. The geo-accumulation index also pointed to moderate contamination of soil by heavy metals. Further, Cd, Cr and Fe levels were as high as 0.038, 0.064 and 0.52 mg l-1 in water sources. The municipal solid waste management infrastructures in the state contributed to 3,98,098 tCO2 eq emissions (82 %). Transportation of waste and landfills were identified as the major sources of these GHG emissions. Landfilling of waste from hospitals without proper treatment impacted the environment as concentrations of Cd, Cr and Pb in soil were recorded as high as 0.014, 0.057 and 0.11 mg kg-1 under their influence. The geo-accumulation index indicated moderate level of contamination of these heavy metals. Further, Cd, Cr and Fe levels were as high as 0.018, 0.048 and 0.44 mg l-1 in water sources under the influence of these infrastructures. Bio-medical waste management facilities lead to 34,605 CO2 eq emissions in the state forming 8 % of total emissions from waste management infrastructures. Transportation and landfilling of untreated biomedical waste were identified as the major sources of these emissions in the state. The LCA studies further confirmed that electricity consumption in STPs, landfills in municipal solid waste disposal facilities and use of chemicals for sterilization in bio-medical waste management facilities were the major sources of incompatibility in the state. However, material recovery practices in municipal waste management facilities drastically reduced the impacts on indicators namely, abiotic depletion, acidification, freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity, human toxicity and ozone depletion potential. In the state, inadequate facilities with rudimentary processes, unskilled personnel and energy use have been identified as factors for environmental incompatibility. Therefore, introduction of advanced sewage treatment technologies material recovery facilities and use of renewable sources of energy may enhance climate change resilience and environmental compatibility of these facilities in the state.