The State Level Monitoring Committee (SLMC) on solid waste management has asked the Kochi Corporation to ensure 100% doorstep collection of waste generated in households and commercial buildings in all the 74 wards under the civic body by August 31.
The health supervisor of the Kochi Corporation should ensure that the 100% door-to-door collection initiative is implemented by August 31. The Corporation Secretary should monitor the progress of work on a weekly basis, according to an official directive from the SLMC.
The progress report should include details like the frequency of collection of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste and the number of workers and vehicles engaged for the purpose. Meanwhile, the State Pollution Control Board informed the committee that it would be constrained to levy environmental compensation on the civic body for any violation of Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules.
The government’s Suchitwa Mission suggested the setting up of manned common collection points where people can drop off waste. According to the mission, such facilities will help those who are not able to stick to the collection timetable set by the corporation.
On the action plan for the Brahmapuram dumping site, the corporation told the committee that it had submitted a proposal for bio-mining of legacy waste. The board clarified that the proposal had been vetted and returned to the corporation.
It was also pointed out that the contractor who is engaged for bio-mining should enter into agreements with the cement industry as well as thermal power plants for offtake of combustible fraction of waste. The Local Self-Government Department has directed the corporation to ensure that unsegregated waste should not reach the Brahmapuram site.
The corporation had submitted an action plan along with an action-taken report on the directives of the committee. The committee observed that the implementation of environmental laws within the time (one year) specified by the National Green Tribunal may not turn a reality going by the action plan. It also recommended that a pipeline be laid to carry leachate from the dumpsite to the septage treatment plant at Brahmapuram.
