The Hindu               18.02.2014

Waste management gets a fillip

Special Correspondent

Kottayam municipal authorities, reeling under pressure over their failure to meet commitments on the waste management front, have received a fillip in the form of a green signal from the Central government for a Rs.18.95-crore project submitted earlier.

Speaking to reporters here on Monday, municipal chairman M.P. Santhosh Kumar said the project had been included in the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) being implemented by the Union Ministry of Urban Development. The project would have to be implemented within two years. While the Central government would chip in with 80 per cent of the expenses, the rest would have to be borne by the State government and the municipal council equally, he said.

The comprehensive project envisages waste management at source, decentralised waste management, infrastructure and logistics for movement of municipal waste and a major awareness campaign among the population.

The municipality could modernise the drainage system using Rs. 50 lakh earmarked for the purpose, he said. The project also provides for procurement of a JCB, a mini tipper, etc., for transportation of the waste. A compactor vehicle to compress municipal waste while on the move so that its quantum could be lowered was also included in the list, he added.

A special component of the project would be the scheme for Vadavathoor dumping yard, he said. The project has earmarked Rs.2.5 crore for the scientific processing of accumulated waste. The problem of leachet which aggravates during the monsoon could be addressed to some extent through the construction of a scientifically designed 900-metre-long drainage system.

The project envisages a major initiative in the area of waste processing at source. As per the scheme, 4,000 households will be provided biogas plants at a cost of Rs.7 crore.

The Times of India          17.02.2014

Piled-up trash to be moved to garbage depot in next 2 days

PUNE: Garbage containers continued to carry accumulated trash from different parts of the city to the landfill site in Phursungi-Uruli and processing plants at Ramtekdi in Hadapsar on Sunday. Officials from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) said they would clear the piled-up waste in the next two days.

Garbage lifting resumed on Saturday night after residents of Uruli Devachi and Phursungi villages gave their conditional permission to dump waste at the landfill site till Wednesday. About 5,000 tonnes of garbage was lying around the city for the last two weeks after protesting villagers had stopped officials from bringing in waste at the garbage depot.

"More than 50 workers have been deployed and over 135 containers have been pressed into service to lift and take the garbage to the processing plants in Hadapsar and Uruli Devachi," a civic official said, on the condition of anonymity.

Early on Sunday morning, garbage containers lifted waste from core Peth areas, Aundh, Kothrud and Karvenagar. The focus was shifted to fringe areas after traffic flow increased. "We are going to intensify the work at night. We aim to lift most of the garbage at night. Waste accumulated in Mandai and adjoining areas will also be cleared," the official said.

NCP president Sharad Pawar had convened a meeting of villagers, PMC officials and corporators on Saturday to find a way out of the deadlock. "We will meet again on Wednesday. I have asked the civic administration to prepare a draft on what steps it will take to find a concrete solution to the garbage problem," Pawar had said after the meeting.