Waste mgmt: Corp in a fix over plan execution

KOZHIKODE: City Corporation authorities are in a fix as the Kudumbashree members engaged in the daily household waste collection have expressed their unwillingness to work for the private agency entrusted with the execution of aerobic bin waste collection scheme at the houses. The Kudumbashree members have decided to keep themselves away from the source reduction scheme of the private agency and continue the on-going work of daily collection of waste from the houses.
Non-cooperation of the Kudumbashree members have put the civic body in a soup as the agency entrusted with the disposal of waste at the apartments has also requested the corporation to pull out the Kudumbashree members from the daily waste collection for the effective execution of the waste diposal at the source points.
The private agency Centre for Research and Development in Health, Hygiene and Environment (CRDHHE) entrusted with the waste disposal at the houses has agreed to accommodate more than three hundred members as service providers.
According to the Kudumbashree, the number of Kudumbashree members reduced to 358 from 742 since its establishment of door-to-door waste collection job in 2004. On an average, Rs 100 to Rs 200 per month is being charged by various Kudumbashree units from each house for the collection of daily waste.
P Gireeja, district secretary of Solid Waste Management Employees Union under Kudumbashree said they are not ready to work under the private agency. "There is no job guarantee that the agency will retain the employees as they can be terminated at any time. Apart from this, the corporation council last year had approved a proposal to absorb Kudumbashree members below the age of 55 to corporation staff and above 55 years for the source disposal scheme. We have lured the women to take up the job of waste collection at the time of launching door-to-door waste collection scheme in 2004 saying that they will get a job in the corporation in the long run. The agency offered Rs 5,000 per month which is less as many of the Kudumbashree units run on profit," said Gireeja.