e-waste: corporation mulls alternative payment modes

Shortage of currency and the ceiling on daily withdrawal of cash from an account following demonetisation have forced the civic authorities of Kochi to rework their payment strategies on e-waste collection in the city.

Last time, customers were straight away paid money for the e-waste that they brought at the collection points. Around ₹1 lakh was paid at the market that functioned at Ernakulam Town Hall. “However, there are apprehensions about the spot payment of money following the shortage of currency,” said V.K. Minimol, chairperson of the Health Standing Committee of the Kochi Corporation.

The local body is planning to organise the market once again as part of the Haritha Keralam project.

Considering the market situation, agencies, including the corporation and the Clean Kerala Company - the green arm of the Kerala government for cleanliness programmes - have initiated talks with some of the National Service Scheme (NSS) units of some city colleges for the collection of waste and payment of money.

key suggestion

It has been suggested that the collection of e-waste could be carried out with the support of the NSS units to overcome the cash crisis. E-waste would be procured from residents as well as the associations of residents at Rs.25 a kilo. The Clean Kerala Company, which would buy the waste from them, would transfer the value of the materials to the accounts of the NSS units. The members of the units in turn would withdraw the money from the bank account and hand it over to residents, she said.

Though the date and venue for the e-waste collection has not been fixed, the civic authorities are planning to open one collection centre at Edapally zonal office of the corporation considering the response the campaign had elicited last time. One unit is likely to be opened at the Padiyath dumping yard of the corporation.

Of the 74 divisions of the Kochi Corporation, representatives of 23 divisions have failed to report back on the events that were supposed to be organised in their divisions as part of the Haritha Keralam campaign. The local body had allotted Rs. 10,000 each for the divisions. Besides the green initiatives, the divisions were also expected to initiate mosquito control measures, said Ms. Minimol.

Chlorination drive

The corporation will carry out a chlorination drive in the city wells as part of the campaign in the wake of the outbreak of hepatitis A at Nellikuzhy near Kothamangalam. A meeting of the health inspectors of the corporation will be convened to chart out an action plan.

The residents could approach the zonal offices of the local body for including the wells in their homes for chlorination, she said.