Kerala To Build Self-Reliant, Sustainable Waste Management System, Says Local Self Government Minister M B Rajesh

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government is taking steps to develop a self-reliant and sustainable waste management system to achieve the goal of a garbage-free state by next year, Minister for Local Self Government M B Rajesh has said. Inaugurating a two-day workshop held here on Friday (June 16) as part of the second phase of the ‘Malinya Muktham Nava Keralam’ campaign here, the minister said it should be ensured that this phase of the campaign reached all sections of people. The minister said in a release,

The aim of this workshop is to plan the second phase of the campaign meticulously through two days of extensive deliberations…The state is making all out efforts for developing a self-reliant and sustainable waste management system by ramping up the campaign launched as part of ‘Malinya Muktham Nava Keralam’ project to achieve the goal of garbage-free Kerala by next year

Although the project is yet to achieve all the goals it set, the activities of the first phase have brought in a visible change all through the State within a short span of time, he added.

Also Read: Delhi’s ‘Green Team’ Is Building An Environment Conscious Community 

The infrastructure for collection, sorting and movement of non-organic waste scientifically needs to be stepped up in each local body area and it should be ensured through close monitoring that the agencies entrusted with recycling and disposal carry out their tasks properly. Minister Rajesh said,

Though there has been a massive improvement in waste collection, we are yet to go a long way in fully meeting the challenge of waste segregation. Haritha Karma Sena (HKS) should be given thorough training in this regard

During the first phase of the campaign, doorstep waste collection has been increased to 80 per cent, whereas the aim is to achieve 100 per cent, he said and added that steps should be taken to improve user fee collection.

Activities related to the second phase of the campaign including training programmes, formulation of plans for state and district level programmes, LSG documentation etc. will be held on the second day of the workshop.

Principal Director of the Local Self Government Department (LSGD), M G Rajamanickam, who presided over the function, said each individual has to work towards bringing a change on the issue of waste disposal which should further reflect on the society.

Planning Board Member, Jiju P Alex, KSWMP Project Director, Mohammed Y Safirulla, KSWMP Deputy Project Director, U V Jose, Suchitwa Mission Executive Director, K T Balabhaskaran, Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) Director General, Joy Elamon, and Clean Kerala Company Managing Director, G K Suresh Kumar, were also present.

District Joint Directors of LSGD, District Coordinators of Nava Keralam, Suchitwa Mission, Program Officers, Clean Kerala Company, Kudumbashree Mission, KILA Facilitators, RGSA Coordinators, RPs of KILA and Social and Communication Experts, KSWMP are the other participants of the two-day workshop.

Also Read: Meet The Children Of ‘Green Gurukul’, The Next Generation Of Climate Change Warriors

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

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – theLGBTQ population,indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fightmalnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health,adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoiletsare used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.