The Hindu                         08.03.2013

Waste dumped in ‘old bags’

Staff Reporter 

The city Corporation’s budget for 2013-14, presented by
Deputy Mayor G. Happykumar on Thursday, says there should be increased
focus on waste management.

Even so, no new schemes
have been proposed. The proposals seek to continue with the initiatives
mooted the previous year which highlights the need to set up
decentralised units.

The one visible reform comes in
the form of an additional Rs.3 crore being allocated for a project
titled, ‘Mini-biogas plants,’ introduced last year with an outlay of
Rs.1 crore.

At a press conference after the budget
presentation, Mayor K. Chandrika said projects related to clearing of
garbage proposed last year could not be deemed as complete, for it was a
continuing process. She cited the ‘Suchitwa Nadinum Veedinum’ scheme
which focussed on doing away with plastic carry bags. To supplement
this, another project at an outlay of Rs.25 lakh aims at setting up
Kudumbasree units to manufacture paper and cloth bags.

A
package aimed at rehabilitating Cleanwell workers by employing them for
the maintenance of pipe-composts or mini-biogas plants has been listed
this year as well.

Much of the criticism directed
against pipe-compost units stemmed from the fact that after they were
put in place, there was no follow-up by Cleanwell workers, as intended.
Also, bag-making training was conducted at only one tailoring unit, at
Kannammoola.

Listing projects at three government
schools and in the Sreekanteswaram ward, Ms. Chandrika said biogas
plants would come up at Palayam, Kazhakuttam, Peroorkada, Sree Chitra
Tirunal park, Poojappura, and Thycaud. Councillor S. Vijayakumar said
the ward-level approach did not take into consideration the
non-availability of land.

In response to a question
on the commissioning of more plastic shredder machines, the Mayor said
the government should bring in a rule whereby the Public Works
Department would be mandated to use shredded plastic. The two machines
at Palayam, she said, ceased to function, because there was no place to
cart away the shredded plastic. As much as Rs.4 crore has been earmarked
to set up a waste treatment plant at the Kunnukuzhy abattoir and to set
up modern mini-abattoirs at Nemom, Kazhakuttam, and Kudappanakunnu.

A
project called ‘Bye bye mosquito’ has also been proposed in the budget
wherein five Kudumbasree workers will take up vector-control activities
in each ward.