Kerala Civic Bodies To Have Solid Waste Management Engineers

Thiruvananthapuram: The Corporations and Municipalities in Kerala will soon have Solid Waste Management (SWM) Engineers to handle the waste management issues and help the urban civic bodies to find lasting solutions to the growing menace of solid wastes. The posting of the SWM Engineers is part of the Kerala Solid Waste Management Project (KSWMP) which is being implemented by the state government in collaboration with the World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). As part of the project, SWM Engineers will be posted in all the 93 urban local bodies consisting of six corporations and 87 municipalities, state LSGD Minister M V Govindan said on Wednesday (July 20).

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These engineers will be part of the municipal level Project Implementation Units (PIU) of the KSWMP, he noted.

SWM Engineers will be responsible for providing guidelines to the respective Urban Local Body administration and devising solid waste management plans according to the local needs and environment.

They will support municipal administrations for preparing, implementing, and overseeing solid waste management initiatives.

SWM engineers will enable ULBs to find sustainable solutions to manage and dispose of non-recyclable solid wastes and equip them with a scientific system to address future waste management issues.

Kerala Solid Waste Management Project has a three-tier project implementation system run by the State Project Management Unit (SMPU), which monitors the progress of the project on a daily basis.

All districts will have a District Project Management Unit (DPMU) under the SPMU.

The respective District Development Commissioner will be responsible for coordinating, implementing, and monitoring the district-level activities.

There will also be Project Implementation Units in all 93 ULBs.

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Besides, the services of technical experts and agencies with expertise in their respective fields will be made available at all levels.

The newly appointed Solid Waste Engineers will work with the Project Implementation Units (PIUs) at municipal levels.

These engineers will help the municipalities in finding new ways to scientifically dispose of non-recyclable solid wastes in an environmentally sound manner and envision sustainable systems for municipal solid waste disposal in the future.

The Kerala Solid Waste Management Project is being implemented by the state government with the financial assistance from the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

The government’s objective with the project is to strengthen urban waste management services, develop infrastructure and prepare modern scientific and technological systems at municipal and regional levels.

The scheme will ensure 100 percent collection, transfer, treatment and disposal of urban solid waste, the minister added.

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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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