KOCHI: Lithuanian capital city of Vilnius which has a fool-proof and advanced waste management system has offered technical assistance to Kochi, which has of late been acting clueless on the ways to handle the issue.
A five-member team from Vilnius held discussions with mayor Soumini Jain, deputy mayor T.J. Vinod and standing committee chairpersons on the European Union project International Urban Cooperation. Kochi and Vilnius have already signed a memorandum of understanding for mutual cooperation as part of the project.
The primary focus of cooperation would be urban planning, transport, solid waste management and sustainable tourism.
During the discussions, it has been agreed to work together in conceiving and implementing projects in three major sectors such as solid waste management, transportation and tourism.
Team leader of the EU project Dr. Panangiotis Karamanos, deputy chief executive director of administration Julius Morkunas, director of city maintenance and transport department Virginijus Pauza, head of energy efficiency office (city maintenance and transport) Egle Randyte, director of urban development department Mindaugas Pakalnis and deputy director of urban development department Ruta Matoniene formed the team which held discussions with Ms Jain.
The team will also hold discussions with representatives of Kochi Metro Rail Limited, Kerala Water Authority, Kumbalangi Model Tourism Village Society, Cochin Smart Mission Limited and GJ Nature Care Limited, the firm entrusted with the construction of the waste-to-energy plant at Brahmapuram.
In lines with the Vilnius model, the Kochi Corporation has announced formation of a special purpose vehicle for waste collection and processing in its annual budget for 2019-20.
Shimla, Lucknow, Nagpur, Panaji, Gwalior, Solapur, Surat, Vijayawada, South Delhi Municipal Corporation, Chennai and Udaipur are the other 11 Indian cities which are part of the UN project.
