More sops likely to promote decentralised waste treatment in Kochi

The Sanitation Mission expects more local bodies in the district to come up with projects for decentralised waste treatment in the wake of enhanced subsidy component by the State government for compost units and biogas plants.

The State government has hiked the subsidy component for various types of compost units to 90 per cent, and biogas plants to 75 per cent. The government subsidy will be routed through the Sanitation Mission.

For compost units, the government will provide 75 per cent subsidy, while the rest will be shared by the local body and the beneficiary concerned in the ratio of 15 per cent and 10 per cent. In the case of biogas plant, the subsidy components by the government will be 50 per cent while the local body and the beneficiary will share the rest equally. To avail of the subsidy, the local body will have to submit a project report to the Sanitation Mission, which will then provide the technical sanction, P.K. Alexander, district coordinator, Sanitary Mission, told

The Hindu here on Monday. He said that the Sanitation Mission will release the government subsidy as soon as the local body enters into an agreement with a service provider.

Last financial year, 10 grama panchayats and eight municipalities submitted project reports for availing of the subsidy. Those projects, however, failed to take off as the rates fixed by the government were low, driving away prospective suppliers.

Mr. Alexander said that the situation is likely to improve this year with the revised subsidy rates. So far, 18 grama panchayats – Alangad, Kalloorkkad, Thiruvaniyoor, Varapuzha, Mookkannoor, Kanjoor, Nedumbassery, Valakom, Chenthamangalam, Kizhakkambalam, Koothattukulam, Edakkattuvayal, Chottanikkara, Karukutty, Manjapra, and Ilanji – and eight municipalities – Maradu, Kothamangalam, Thrikkakara, Eloor, Tripunithura, and Paravur – have submitted projects to the Sanitation Mission this financial year. The Sanitation Mission expects more projects during the rest of the fiscal with majority of the local bodies in the process of drawing up their annual plans. Local bodies should select the service providers for compost units or biogas plants from the list approved by the government.