The
Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has organized a two day National
Workshop on Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) under Swachh Bharat
Mission on July 15th, 16th, 2016. The workshop was
inaugurated by Minister of State for Drinking Water & Sanitation, Shri
Ramesh Jigajinagi. In his inaugural address, Shri Jigajinagi said that since
the day that the Prime Minister gave the Swachh Bharat call to the nation from
the ramparts of the Red Fort, there has been a national awakening for this
noble task. It may be a difficult target, he said, but is not impossible if we
all work with a clear focus, right intention and smart strategies.
Speaking
on the subject of SLWM, he said that segregation, collection, treatment and
disposal of garbage should preferably be done in a decentralized manner. He
appreciated the fact that most villages of Kerala are doing this sustainably
through vermin composting, biogas plants, soak pits, and water treatment
practices, which can be an example for replication in many other States of the
country.
Speaking
at the inauguration, the Minister of Local Self Governments, Dr KT Jaleel,
Government of Kerala, underscored the importance of effective waste management
for health, economic progress and development of any nation. He said that the State
is working hard on developing and implementing decentralized waste management
models using low cost technologies. He also underlined the role of citizen
participation in waste management and said that Kerala has adopted the slogan
“My Waste is My Responsibility” as an important means to create public
awareness.
He also
declared in his address that Kerala has taken up the Open Defecation Free (ODF)
challenge and is aiming to become India’s second ODF State (after Sikkim) by
November 1, 2016.
The
Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Shri Parameswaran Iyer,
spoke about waste management in the context of Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin),
saying that household sanitation, practiced safely, and freedom from open
defecation are the main focus areas under the programme. He said that the aim
of the workshop was:
·
To share successful national and international
models for effective SLWM
·
To arrive at a system to reflect the SLWM
initiatives in the SBM Management Information System (MIS)
·
To ultimately move towards a Village Swachhta
Index (VSI) which will be the national metric to measure cleanliness of Indian
villages in objective terms. Clean village is broadly defined as a village
which:
o
is Open Defecation Free
o
has effective Solid and Liquid Waste Management
o
has Visual Cleanliness
Speaking
on the status of SLWM in Kerala, Shri SM Vijayanand, Chief Secretary of Kerala,
said that the State has the highest level of rural consumption, which means
that it is one of the largest generators of rural waste. Enumerating the unique
challenges faced by the State Government, he said, that the State has a highest
density of population and high rural labour cost.
But, he
also added, that there are a number of unique strengths of the State, particularly
its strong Gram Panchayats, the Self Help Group ecosystem, rising public
awareness regarding waste due to spread of new-generation communicable diseases
and ill-effects of waste on the tourism in the State, and an activist media. He
said that these strengths have led to a rich legacy of community efforts, a
strong NGO sector, technological progress, and a strengthened capacity building
system.
Later
in the day, presentations were made by national and international experts
sharing successful models across the country and world. Dr. K Vasuki, Executive
Director, Suchitwa Mission, Kerala spoke about the Green Protocol in the State
under which all government events and offices are free from use of disposable
plastic and paper items and there is a strong focus on minimizing wastage. She
also spoke about the government subsidy given for home composting systems for
wet waste management at household level, adding that a number of citizens were
taking up composting without availing subsidies simply to make natural compost
to grow organic vegetables in their kitchen gardens.
Officers
from many other States, including Punjab, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu
and Haryana also shared successful local models for SLWM.
Prof Heinz-Peter Mang from the University of Science and Technology, Beijing,
Mr Shafick Hoosain from the World Bank shared international examples and models
for the same.
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SNC
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