The Attingal municipality is embarking on a mission titled Ente Nagaram, Haritha Nagaram to provide green cover in areas under its jurisdiction.
Under the programme, the civic body will plant around 10,000 saplings in public places, including on roadside, premises of educational institutions, religious places, and along waterbodies.
The municipality will procure saplings of neem, kanikonna, tamarind, curry leaf, and jackfruit from the Social Forestry wing of the Forest Department. The department will supply a sapling for 50 paise, municipality chairman M. Pradeep Kumar said.
“We will start the programme on June 5 and complete it in three months. The programme is an extension of our waste management programme. We could set up proper mechanism for waste disposal and the next step is to create a healthy environment by increasing the green cover,” he told The Hindu .
Bamboo cultivation
The municipality will also plant bamboo along the entire stretch of the Vamanapuram river. The civic body had earlier planted bamboo on a small stretch on the riverside to see whether it could prevent sand erosion during rain.
“The planting of bamboo has yielded good results. So we decided to extend the project,” he said.
The municipality has cleared the last hurdle in establishing a landfill for the disposal of non-biodegradable waste at its waste treatment plant at Chudukad. The project got delayed because of the Kerala State Electricity Board was yet to give it clearance.
The board has now agreed to put its high tension line on an elevated path for the construction of the landfill, which will be the first of its kind in the State.
Waste management
As per solid waste management rules, all civic bodies should have a landfill to dispose of non-biodegradable waste. In a sanitary landfill, waste is deposited in thin layers in a well-protected pit and compressed using machinery.
Several layers of waste are placed inside and then compacted on top of each other to form a refuse cell. Finally, the refuse cell is covered with thick soil.
Going green
Social Forestry will give saplings at 50 paise each
Project will be completed in three months
Bamboo to be planted along the Vamanapuram river
