Biodigester units to promote decentralised waste management at Kalamassery in Ernakulam

Beneficiary families to get units at a subsidised rate of ₹342

Heaps of waste lying without proper disposal at a facility of the Kalamassery Municipality in this file photo. | Photo Credit: VIBHU H

The Kalamassery Municipality has initiated steps to introduce decentralised management of biodegradable waste generated at the household level.

The civic body had received flak for its unscientific waste management from the National Green Tribunal and the State Level Monitoring Committee (SLMC) on Solid Waste Management.

Biodigester bins will be distributed among households in all 42 wards of the municipality.

A.K. Nishad, chairman of the health standing committee, said that 20 biodigester units would be provided in each ward in the initial phase.

The bins were purchased as per tender proceedings at the rate of ₹1,749 for each bin. The standards of each unit comply with the provisions of the Suchitwa Mission, according to authorities.

The beneficiary family will be given the biodigester unit at a subsidised rate of ₹342. The municipality will meet the remaining cost. Households will also receive inoculum along with the biodigester at the rate of ₹342. The families will be encouraged to use manure generated by the process for growing vegetables on their premises.

Despite such projects, the municipality has not yet resolved issues pertaining to non-biodegradable waste management. The lapses at the dumping site at North Kalamassery had come under the SLMC lens for alleged violation of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.