The Greater Chennai Corporation is applying for a 3-star rating as a Garbage Free City under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0.
On Wednesday, the Council passed a resolution regarding the application of the rating and the steps to achieve it. On December 24, 2021 the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched the star rating protocol of Garbage-Free Cities Toolkit 2022, which details requirements and parameters for the ratings. An objective of the SBM 2.0 is making every local body 3-star garbage free.
The Corporation has made sure to adhere to the definition of garbage-free city, according to the toolkit. Door-to-door collection of waste happens in all 15 zones of the city with Urbaser Sumeet handling seven zones, Ramky handling three and the remaining by the GCC.
According to an official, Chennai has the largest number of 5,800 battery-operated-vehicles and will soon procure more to fully eliminate tricycle usage. The civic body has undertaken bio mining in the Perungudi dumpyard and in the previous council meeting, the same was approved for Kodungaiyur and the process of bidding will begin shortly.
The GCC has established micro-composting centres in 186 places to process wet waste and Resource Recovery Centres and Material Recovery Facilities in more than 150 places for processing and recycling dry garbage. The corporation has been vigilant about the ban on single-use plastic and ensures that commercial establishments directly hand over garbage to the collectors.
Chief Engineer of Solid Waste Management N. Mahesan expressed confidence that Chennai was on the path to becoming a garbage-free city. The application requires the submissions of declarations from the Mayor, ward councillors and bulk waste generators affirming that the city is garbage free and following necessary protocols. “We will be asking for feedback and suggestions from the public as well, including schoolchildren, resident welfare associations and hospitals,” said the chief engineer. The corporation will begin to ask feedback from citizens shortly.
The chief engineer added that public toilets prevented open defecation so the city could achieve the Open Defecation Free ++ rating. “This is a community effort, both citizens and corporation officials have to work together to achieve this rating. We have a civic sense that will only motivate us to do better,” Mr. Mahesan added.
