Thrikkakkara municipality takes road to clean future

KOCHI: The Thrikkakkara municipality, which includes Infopark, special economic zone (SEZ), various central government offices and the Ernakulam district collectorate, is moving towards achieving the ‘clean municipality’ status.
The civic body, which has been finding it difficult to solve issues related to waste disposal, is launching the ‘Clean Thrikkakkara’ project that will collect waste directly from about 20,000-odd households, offices and commercial establishments from within its limits.
Urban affairs minister Manjalamkuzhy Ali will inaugurate the project at a function to be held at Kakkanad on Friday. Two bins, one for bio-waste and another for plastic waste, will be provided to each household in the municipality. “We have already purchased 40,000 waste bins for the purpose. Two trucks and 15 pick-up autorickshaws have also been bought under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme. Once the project gets underway, the waste disposal issue will become a thing of the past,” said Shaji Vazhakkala, chairman, Thrikkakara municipality.
The total cost of the project is Rs one crore. Though the municipality already has around 40 Kudumbashree workers and contingency labourers for waste collection, the local body was not able to dispose waste properly as they didn’t have enough vehicles for the purpose. “We will start the project with the workforce we have now. If more labourers are required, we will select them through the employment exchange,” Shaji Vazhakkala said. “Bio-waste will be taken to the solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram while the plastic waste will be shredded at the unit set up by us,” he said.
Each household will have to pay a monthly charge of Rs 100 to Kudumbashree workers for collecting waste. The local body plans to collect waste from shops at the rate of Rs 2.50 per kg.
The municipality has decided to put in place a surveillance system to ensure that waste is not dumped on roadsides and other public places. In important areas such as Infopark and SEZ, surveillance cameras will be installed. Penalty will be slapped on those found dumping waste. After monitoring the functioning of the project, municipal authorities will incorporate more components to plug issues if any.
Interestingly, the project is one among the last few projects being implemented in the state under the JNNURM scheme. The Union government has decided to wind up the JNNURM scheme which is likely to result in local bodies across the state losing funds for various infrastructure development and other projects.