The Hindu                       02.03.2013

SWM campaign slow off the block

G.V. Prasada Sarma 

GVMC’s campaign and trial run on decentralised solid waste management scheduled for March first week will now have to wait for the time being. The plan, announced by Municipal Commissioner M.V. Satyanarayana at a national workshop on appropriate solid waste management technologies last month, envisages collection of garbage from the doorstep of residents after separation into wet and dry waste and plans for utilising it. The Clean City Campaign is originally to be unveiled on March 2, followed by inauguration and trial run.

Model code

To begin with, a meeting was to have been held with people’s representatives to actively involve them in the major exercise that aims at the roughly 900 tons of garbage generated by the city everyday.

However, the meeting could not be held as the model code of conduct was in force up to February 27 in view of the Legislative Council elections. The code came into effect a day after the Commissioner announced the SWM plans.

Meanwhile, GVMC is putting in place logistic support like cycle-rickshaws, pushcarts or wheel barrows, defining the duty of sanitary staff, involvement of other officials in monitoring various disposal mechanisms, earmarking sites for disposal, carrying out large-scale training for various categories of citizens etc and involving general public in the campaign.

“We don’t want to rush into it without readying the logistic support or without gearing up people with increased awareness and our own staff and officials for it,” an official added.

Apart from collection at the doorstep strategies to make apartments and gated communities use the waste for power generation and setting up biogas plants at various housing colonies constructed by GVMC are also being planned as a long-term strategy. Separate routes are being worked out and bigger vehicles deployed to lift the garbage from rytu bazaars, kalyanamantapams, hotels, slaughter houses, and meat shops.