Kerala government launches Rs 2,400 cr solid waste management project, ET Infra

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KOCHI: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday inaugurated the Rs 2,400-crore Kerala Solid Waste Management Project (KSWMP) as part of the second phase of ‘Malinya Muktham Navakeralam’ (garbage free) campaign here. Addressing a gathering, Vijayan said the southern state was being urbanised at a rapid pace and urged everyone to join hands to achieve a garbage-free Kerala.

“According to certain reports, at least 90 per cent of the state’s population will be urbanised by 2035. There are opportunities as well as challenges in this regard. Adapting to modern techniques for waste management is part of addressing the challenges,” Vijayan said.

Local Self Government minister, M B Rajesh, presided over the function where Industries Minister P Rajeeve, unveiled a new design for material collection facilities (MCFs) and resource recovery facilities (RRFs), developed by architect G Shankar. Congress leader and Ernakulam MP, Hibi Eden, launched a new Grievance Redressal Mechanism developed by KSWMP.

Vijayan noted that a clean state will reduce communicable diseases and promote tourism. The Left leader further said the aim was to make Kerala a model before the world in waste management by 2024. The ambitious project is being carried out by KSWMP in association with the World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The current financial year will see the state’s 87 municipalities and six corporations launching sub-projects worth Rs 300 crores, which is one-fourth of the total grant they are to get to strengthen infrastructure for solid-waste management, the Local Self government department said in a release.

“The projects will be world class and are slated to be completed in a year,” it said. The first phase of KSWMP drew encouraging response, with the percentage of doorstep garbage collection rising from 48 to 78, the release said, adding that the public reported 5,965 cases of illegitimate garbage heaps across the state since the roll-out of KSWMP, leading authorities to clear 95 per cent of them.

“Penalties collected by the squad fetched the authorities a total of Rs 1.60 crores,” the release said. Meanwhile, Rs 25 lakh came through fines based on image-based tip-offs from informers, who are being paid 25 per cent of the penalty as consolation, it said.