Kadanad Panchayat in Ooty Panchayat Union in the Nilgiris district has become a trendsetter of sorts in waste management. The panchayat administration with support from the District Rural Development Agency had launched a set of initiatives in segregated waste collection and local processing of waste that are now bearing fruit.
The panchayat president R. Sivakumar said that village panchayat administration has in the past two years extended the scheme to more than 20 of its 40 habitations, where the residents do not dump waste in the open.
The residents handed over degradable and non-degradable waste to conservancy workers, called ‘Pasumai Kavalargal’, who collected the same in separate bins.
The workers took the degradable waste to the local waste pit, if it was available, or both the waste to bins kept outside the habitations, on the main road.
The panchayat administration used the lorries to transport the waste to the nearest waste pit and non-degradable waste processing hub.
There, the administration converts the degradable waste to compost to be sold to farmers, and further segregates the non-degradable waste.
It shreds the plastics to be sold to road contractors and other waste to recyclers and industries that use them as raw materials.
Mr. Sivakumar said that the challenge in the whole exercise was not mobilising resources or money but changing the mindset of the people. He visited every habitation, talked to the community leaders and convinced them to not only ask the residents to segregate waste but also pay Rs. 30 a month to meet recurring expenditure. And, they agreed.
Assistant Project Officer, Housing and Sanitation, District Rural Development Agency, R. Kasinathan said that under instructions from Project Director S. Kavitha, the department had given Kadanad and 10 other panchayats money to buy bins, lorries, shredders and also pay workers.
It had also given money to buy glovers and other gear for the workers. Kadanad was a trendsetter in this regard, he added.
