Thiruvananthapuram : After the long wait, the city corporation is finally gearing up to invite tender to implement the new and improvised decentralised waste management scheme in the state capital. The Rs 53 crore worth project – which will be implemented with financial aid from the state, centre and corporation’s plan fund – will take off this month. The project has been in the back burner for a while despite getting the nod from the Centre because of the election code of conduct.
Mayor V.K. Prasanth told DC that the project aims at strengthening and improvising the existing decentralised waste management initiative of the civic body. More kitchen bins, aerobic bins, CCTVs, and plastic shredders would be installed as part of the project. The main highlight of the project is the advanced aerobic bins. The plan is to install aro-und 200 new aerobic bins by year end. According to officials, once the tender is floated the project will take off within a couple of months.
“We are planning to produce quality organic manure. More organic farming initiatives are the only way to make decentralised waste management initiative a success. We are planning to brand the organic manure and provide it for farmers at reasonable rates. Currently, we are unable to meet the demand for manure from farmers,” said Mr Prasanth. He said that this time utmost priority would be given for the quality and durability of the aerobic bins. “Strengthening of the existing aerobic bins is also part of the project,” he added.
However, inadequate time for executing the projects will be a major challenge for the civic authorities as the fund will expire by December end. An official said that efforts would be taken to get an extension from the Centre for utilisation of funds. “It took a lot of time to get the Centre clearance for the detailed project report submitted by us. The election came and we were working on the background to ensure tenders are floated without much delay post elections,” said the official.
