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Solid Waste Management

Waste segregation scheme launched in Komarapalayam Municipality

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The Hindu        17.07.2017  

Waste segregation scheme launched in Komarapalayam Municipality

Electricity Minister P.Thangamani (left) handing over the containers to the residents of Komarapalayam municipality in Namakkal on Saturday.THE HINDUDIPR;DIPR  

Minister Thangamani donates Rs. 5 lakh to procure 47,832 green and blue plastic containers

The Komarapalayam Municipality has introduced source segregation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste under its solid waste management programme.

Electricity Minister P. Thangamani donated a sum of Rs. 5 lakh to the Municipality for procuring 47,832 green and blue plastic containers to be distributed to the 23,916 households in 33 wards of Komarapalayam municipality.

Speaking during the launch of the scheme here on Saturday, Mr. Thangamani explained the steps taken for the creation of infrastructure in the municipal limits.

He said that underground drainage works and drinking water scheme works were progressing fast in the municipal limits. Once these works get completed, all the roads in the town will be re-laid, he said.

The municipality has accorded priority for supplying drinking water in all the wards. Steps have also been initiated to ensure that all the eligible people were covered under the different welfare schemes of the government. The present regime was evincing keen interest in implementing all the welfare and development schemes launched by former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, the Minister said.

M. Asia Mariam, District Collector, presided over the function. R. Maheswari, Municipal Commissioner, and others spoke.

Inaugurated

Earlier, the Minister inaugurated the projects to construct a couple of anganwadis at Avarankadu in Pallipalayam municipality at an outlay of Rs. 15.46 lakh and two cycle sheds at Government Boys Higher Secondary School in Komarapalayam town at an outlay of Rs. 10 lakh from his MLA Local Area Development Fund.

 

Solid waste management user charges introduced

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The Hindu         06.07.2017    

Solid waste management user charges introduced

Self-help group members collecting garbage at Gandhi Market in Tiruchi.Photo: M. Moorthy  

Tiruchi Corporation’s move draws flak from a section of residents

The Tiruchi Corporation’s move to introduce a new levy in the form of solid waste management user charges has drawn flak from a section of city residents.

The Corporation has started collecting the charges this financial year. Tax demand notices sent to residents also mention the levy as a separate head. The solid waste management user charges starts from Rs. 30 per half-year at the rate of Rs. 5 a month for a tax assessment of Rs. 500. But it varies, commensurate with the property tax rates of residential buildings. If a resident is liable to pay property tax of Rs. 1,000 for his house, the charge will be Rs. 60 per half-year.

Corporation Special Officer-cum-Commissioner N.Ravichandran said the levy had been introduced as per the government guidelines under the Swachh Bharat Mission. “This is done across the country. But we have fixed the minimum rate of Rs. 5 a month for property tax assessments of Rs. 500. We have followed the due procedure, gazetted it and also issued advertisement,” Mr. Ravichandran told The Hindu .

The charge is being levied to meet at least a portion of the expenditure incurred towards sanitation initiatives. Sources in the Corporation said the user charge had been fixed for residential buildings in the city. The charges for commercial and industrial building would be fixed soon and collected from such property owners too.

Taking exception to the move, S.Pushpavanam, Secretary, Consumer Protection Council, Tamil Nadu, said residents of the city were already paying property, professional tax and water charges, besides underground drainage maintenance charges, so that the Corporation can discharge its duties.

“The primary duty of the Corporation is to keep the city clean by clearing garbage, ensuring sanitation by constructing and maintaining drains and dispose of sewage and laying and maintaining roads. For laying and maintaining roads, it gets special funds from the State Government and it gets funds from State Governments to meet its deficit and for special projects. When such is the case, levying charges for solid waste management separately is bad in law and in ethics. It is an unfair practice,” Mr.Pushpavanam contended. “If this is allowed, tomorrow, they may levy separate charges for cleaning the streets, maintaining drains and paying salaries to staff,” he observed.

No other Corporation such as Madurai, Coimbatore or Tirunelveli has imposed such a tax, he claimed and urged the Tiruchi Corporation authorities to stop collecting the tax and refund it to people who have already paid it.

Other urban local bodies were in the process of fixing and collecting the charges, Mr. Ravichandran pointed out.

 

More than 1.5 tonnes collected from Ooty shops

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The Hindu         22.06.2017  

More than 1.5 tonnes collected from Ooty shops

Udhagamandalam Municipality officials conducted an awareness programme on Commercial Road recently.Rohan PremkumarRohan Premkumar  

UMC vehicles will collect the waste every week and take it to the DRCC in Khandal

After informing all 1,200 shops and commercial establishments to segregate their waste, especially plastic and dry waste, so that it can be collected and recycled, the Udhagamandalam Municipality (UMC) began collecting the waste from shops and store owners from Wednesday.

According to UMC Commissioner (in-charge), V. Prabhakaran, the response from shopkeepers has been astonishing, with more than 1.5 tonnes of dry waste being collected on Wednesday, which was then taken to the Dry Resource Collection Centre (DRCC) in Khandal and recycled.

The Udhagamandalam Municipality had ordered that all shops and commercial establishments in Ooty Town segregate their plastic waste and leave them outside their stores so that the municipality can collect them at source on a weekly basis.

The Municipality Commissioner, along with sanitary inspectors conducted awareness programmes for the shops along the Commercial Road, Garden Road and other areas in Ooty Town since last week to get their message across.

According to sanitary inspectors, V Srinivasan and M Maharaja, more than 1,200 shops from the town have been asked to segregate plastic waste and leave them outside their stores for the municipality to collect. UMC vehicles will collect the waste every week and take it to the DRCC in Khandal.

The DRCC was unveiled by the District Collector, P Sankar in January of this year. The centre hosts a plastic shredding machine, where collected plastic is shredded and used to make roads. The CSR initiative, which is being undertaken by ITC, is called “Well Being Out of Waste.”

V Prabhakaran, the municipality commissioner, has directed all shops and stores to not discard their waste inappropriately and called on all business owners to cooperate to ensure that the UMC's stated “Zero-waste policy” goals are achieved.

 


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