Published 08:23 IST, October 11th 2020
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan assures local bodies of sanitation status in his govt's tenure
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday, October 10, informed that the state government has decided to give sanitation status to local bodies
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday, October 10, informed that the state government has decided to give sanitation status to local bodies which have provided the best infrastructure for solid waste treatment. Vijayan further said his government intends to provide most of the local bodies with full sanitation status in its tenure. The Kerala Chief Minister made the announcement through video-conferencing.
So far 589 local bodies in Kerala have received sanitation status, according to an official release. During the address, the Chief Minister said all local bodies should keep in mind that cleanliness is their primary responsibility.
"The government has decided to give sanitation status to the local bodies which have provided the best infrastructure for solid waste treatment and then full sanitation status for the preparation of complete waste treatment including liquid and gaseous waste. As part of the 100-day action plan, it was estimated that 250 local bodies would be rehabilitated in the first phase. But it is a great achievement that more than twice as many local bodies have been able to reach this position. 501 Grama Panchayats, 58 Municipalities and 30 Block Panchayats have been upgraded to sanitation status", said Pinarayi Vijayan.
As per reports, Kerala did not have a comprehensive plan to deal with bio-inorganic and e-waste when Vijayan's government came to power. However, the government has taken on the important task of resolving this issue, the Kerala CM said. As part of these efforts, Vijayan said that various waste treatment methods were implemented through Haritha Kerala Mission.
According to the official release, the Haritha Karma Sena (Green Task Force) was established under the leadership of Kudumbasree for the collection of non-organic waste including plastic. Currently, there are 1,551 entrepreneurial groups of Haritha Karma Sena in 850 Grama Panchayats and 88 Municipalities.
The waste problem has been solved to a large extent with the completion of the system for sorting and recycling the inorganic wastes collected by them and handing them over to the Clean Kerala Company, the release said adding that the clean Kerala e-waste collection has also been started. Furthermore, the CM said that centralised treatment plants are needed to treat certain types of waste.
Under the leadership of the Local Self-Government Department, Haritha Kerala Mission, Clean Kerala Company, Suchitwa Mission, Kudumbasree and Employment Guarantee Mission have jointly developed the procedures for the selection of LSG bodies for excellence in solid waste management. Scientific solid waste treatment is now being fully implemented in more than half of the state's land area through the achievements of the local bodies, the release said.
(With ANI inputs; Image PTI)
Updated 08:23 IST, October 11th 2020