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GWMC to set up faecal sludge treatment plant

Sunday, 04 June 2017 00:00 administrator

The New Indian Express 04.06.2017

GWMC to set up faecal sludge treatment plant

WARANGAL: In order to over come the problem of untreated sewage, the Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation(GWMC) with the help of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is setting up a Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant (FSTP) at Ammavaaripeta area on the city outskirts at a cost of `1.2 crore.

The plant has been entrusted to Bengaluru based company Tide Technocrats, an environmental and sustainable consulting organisation and also empaneled consultant for Swacch Bharat Mission. The plant being set up on 2 acres of land provided by the corporation would clean 16,000 litres of sludge everyday.

Plant to be based on thermal technology According to Administrative Staff College of India(ASCI), project monitoring unit coordinator Rajmohan Reddy, the corporation is keen to construct a FSTP to treat the faecal sludge so that water could be reused for watering plants and the sludge for fertiliser. The treatment plant would also prevent unauthorised dumping of faecal waste, he added.

“Unlike other FSTP plants which are based on biotechnology, this particular plant would be based on thermal technology. This is for the first time in the country, a thermal-based FSTP is being set up by a civic body. This one is much better than bio-based FSTPs as it does not emit any bad smell and the bio waste could be utilised as fertiliser,” he said.

According to him, the bio-charred compost generated through the plant could be used as soil fertiliser. “We are planning to use the compost in the park being developed adjacent to the FSTP. Once it is successfully utilised, it would be sold to farmers in the future.

About 200 kg of compost would generate everyday. Through the sale of compost, the corporation could also earn a good revenue,” he pointed out. Even the treated water would be utilised to water plants in corporation’s nurseries and parks, he added. “This would save lot of ground water for the corporation,” he said. Tide Technocrats, which is executing the project, is procuring the thermal container from US.

The company would be taking care of the plant for a period of one year and after that the corporation has to make arrangement for its maintenance.

“We have requested Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to provide maintenance for a period of five years instead of one year. Let’s see what they say,” Rajmohan Reddy said. The maintenance of the plant would cost corporation `8 lakh per annum.

Kadiyam lays the foundation
The foundation for the FSTP plant was laid by deputy chief minister Kadiyam Srihari on the occasion of State formation day. The officials are planning to operate the plant from August 15. Once this plant starts functioning successfully, the corporation would set up two more such plants in the city. “If this plant yields good results such plants would be set up in other cities and towns in the state,” Rajmohan Reddy said.

BBMP takes cooperatives route to loosen stranglehold of contractors

Saturday, 03 June 2017 00:00 administrator

The Hindu 03.06.2017

BBMP takes cooperatives route to loosen stranglehold of contractors

Empowering them:Pourakarmikas will be the only members of the BBMP Link Workers Cooperative Societies.

Civic body also hopes to eliminate another problem: Inflating the number of pourakarmikas

In an attempt to eliminate the problem of contractor mafia and the duplication of pourkarmikas’ names, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is experimenting with forming cooperatives of solid waste management (SWM) workers at the ward levels and contracting work to them instead of contractors.

The pilot project is set to take off in 15 wards in Byatarayanapura and Sarvagna Nagar, the neighbouring Assembly constituencies of north and east Bengaluru represented by Ministers Krishna Byre Gowda and K.J. George respectively. Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commissioner, SWM, BBMP, said that the bylaws for the societies, and drafts of MoUs between the civic body and the proposed societies were ready. Detailed proposals from five wards of Sarvagna Nagar were ready and proposals from other wards would be ready in a week, he added.

These co-operatives called ‘BBMP Link Workers Cooperative Society’ will have pourakarmikas – sweepers and garbage collectors presently working under contractors in the particular ward – as the only members. While the president and other office bearers will be elected from among the pourakarmikas, the BBMP will appoint an assistant executive engineer rank official as the CEO of each society. BBMP will henceforth pay their salaries to the society which will in turn disburse the same to the members, according to the bylaws, a copy of which is available with The Hindu .

The bylaws also provide for a board of management with a total of 16 members. Three of these, a BBMP chief engineer, a master trainer in waste management and a representative from Residents’ Welfare Association, will be invited. However, they will have no voting rights or profit shares. The board will have a term of five years. The office, furniture and operational costs will be borne by BBMP. The society will also have an advisory board to be headed by the ward councillor and the ward committee.

N.S. Ramakanth, SWM Expert Committee, BBMP, said the cooperative society was one of the best models to eliminate the contractor mafia in garbage management. “Today, the entire city is at the mercy of the contractors. They have even boycotted the new garbage tenders and forced the BBMP to pay them arbitrarily. The cooperative model will eliminate them,” he said, and added that the scheme will empower pourakarmikas, who are expected to face resistance from the councillors.

However, the pourakarmika unions are cautious. Vinay Sreenivasa, BBMP Contract Pourakarmika Union, said their demand for regularisation of all contract pourakarmikas that even the State cabinet decided on would not be diluted. “In the cooperative societies, BBMP will pay to the society instead of directly to the pourakarmikas. In the event of any issues within the society, BBMP may shirk responsibility,” he said, and added that the civic body should hold wide-ranging consultations with all the pourakarmika unions over the issue.

GHMC identifies 842 critical nala bottlenecks

Saturday, 03 June 2017 00:00 administrator

The Hindu 03.06.2017

GHMC identifies 842 critical nala bottlenecks

Statutory notices to be issued

With monsoon set to hit the State soon, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) seems to have realised the impending problem of encroachment on storm water drains (nalas) only now.

The civic body has sought individual sketches of around 500 such properties. While it has identified 842 properties as critical bottlenecks to be removed from various stretches across the twin cities, the town planning and engineering wings have been ordered to immediately prepare the structural compensation amount, even while making statutory notices ready to be issued to 500 properties, as per Commissioner B. Janardhan Reddy’s instructions.

These, along with documentary proof of photographs, paper clippings, etc., should be handed over to the GHMC standing counsels to apprise the same before the civic courts to avoid any status quo orders that may hinder the demolition process. If necessary, caveat petition should be filed in lower courts.

Cellar excavation

Mr. Reddy wanted daily progress reports to be submitted to the head office, and for the entire exercise to be completed by June 15. No excavation of cellars should be taken up during the monsoon, and if it cannot wait, strengthening measures should be taken and old compound walls should be removed. For sloped terrains, care should be taken to ensure hut dwellers/temporary structures on the side of the retaining wall were shifted.

Dilapidated buildings

Steps should be taken to issue notices to dilapidated buildings and ensure inhabitants vacate the property, Mr. Reddy said.

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