The Hindu 11.06.2010
Plans afoot to make State ‘plastic-free'
Staff Correspondent
| Solid Waste Management plant inaugurated in Kundapur |
‘37 per cent of people in the State live in
urban areas'
Government committed to improving amenities in urban areas, says Acharya
Kundapur (Udupi District): Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Urban Development S. Suresh Kumar said on Wednesday that the Government was planning to make Karnataka a plastic-free State.
He was speaking at the inauguration of the Solid Waste Management plant of the Kundapur Town Municipal Council (TMC) at Kandavar village here.
Mr. Kumar said that disposal of plastic material was a problem. Many people burnt plastic while disposing off garbage. The smoke emanating while burning plastic was hazardous to health. Plastic was responsible for environmental pollution.
Urban local bodies should ban the use of plastic material. “If Kundapur TMC bans the use of plastic and makes Kundapur a ‘plastic-free town', I will ensure that the Government gives it an award,” he said. Urban local bodies should give priority to provision of drinking water, cleanliness and creating an environment where people could live peacefully, Mr. Kumar said.
Home Minister V.S. Acharya, who inaugurated the plant, said that nearly 37 per cent of people in the State lived in urban areas. The Government was committed to improving civic amenities in urban areas. Hence, it was providing maximum funds to all the 218 urban local bodies in the State, he said.
The Government had granted Rs. 30 crore for development of Udupi city and Rs. 5 crore for the development of Kundapur town. Additional funds had been granted to municipal corporations in the State, he said.
Survey
Survey for the underground drainage facility in Kundapur would be completed in six months and funds would be released for its implementation, he said, and complimented the Kundapur TMC for bagging the national award for good governance.
A mobile traffic police station would be inaugurated in Kundapur on June 13. Nearly 20 police quarters had been built in Byndoor. A new building for the Kollur police station would soon be constructed, Dr. Acharya said.
MLC Kota Srinivas Poojary, Chairman of Task Force for Implementation of Third Finance Commission Report A.G. Kodgi and president of Kundapur TMC Mohandas Shenoy were present.
