The Uttar Pradesh government has stepped up efforts to attract private companies from the United States and South Africa to set up units to generate electricity from solid wastes. "I am very much interested in this scheme. I really want such units to be set up in big cities. This will not only take care of power problem but also help the urban local bodies to manage domestic waste," Urban Development Minister Mohammad Azam Khan told 'The Pioneer' here on Friday. The minister viewed a power point presentation by US-based company Memios in his secretariat chamber. In its proposal, the company has said that the government should provide land free of cost and it would set up the unit at its own cost. The government would buy the electricity generated in the unit. "The proposal is good. But I need more clarifications and I have asked the company officials to come with them," Khan said. The minister has asked officials of his department to contact foreign companies, particularly of South Africa, who have the potential to set up fourth generation plants. During the previous Mayawati government also, the state government had proposed to set up solid waste management projects under public private partnership (PPP) model in about 23 urban centres. At present, solid waste management projects are in operation in eight cities of the state--in Kanpur, Agra, Muzaffarnagar, Rae Bareli, Kannauj, Aligarh, Moradabad and Allahabad.