All local bodies to get sanitation status during this government's tenure: Kerala CM

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday announced that all local bodies will get sanitation status during this government's tenure.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday announced that all local bodies will get station status during this government's tenure.

According to an official release, 589 local bodies in Kerala got station status. The CM declared the station status through video-conferencing.

In his address, the Chief Minister said, "All local bodies should keep in mind that cleanliness is their primary responsibility. The government has decided to give station status to the local bodies which have provided the best infrastructure for solid waste treatment and then full station status for the preparation of complete waste treatment including liquid and gaseous waste. As part of the 100-day action plan, it was estimated that 250 local bodies would be rehabilitated in the first phase. But it is a great achievement that more than twice as many local bodies have been able to reach this position. 501 Grama Panchayats, 58 Municipalities and 30 Block Panchayats have been upgraded to station status."

When this government came to power, the State did not have a comprehensive plan to deal with bio-inorgc and e-waste. The government has taken on the important task of resolving this issue. As part of this, various waste treatment methods were implemented through Haritha Kerala Mission.

The Haritha Karma Sena (Green Task Force) was formed under the leadership of Kudumbasree for the collection of non-orgc waste including plastic, according to the official release.

At present, there are 1,551 entrepreneurial groups of Haritha Karma Sena in 850 Grama Panchayats and 88 Municipalities. With the completion of the network for sorting and recycling the inorgc wastes collected by them and handing them over to the Clean Kerala Company, the waste problem has been solved to a large extent. Clean Kerala e-waste collection has also been started. However, the CM added that centralized treatment plants are needed to treat certain types of waste.

Under the leadership of the Local Self-Government Department, Haritha Kerala Mission, Suchitwa Mission, Clean Kerala Company, Kudumbasree and Employment Guarantee Mission jointly developed the procedures for the selection of LSG bodies for excellence in solid waste management.

Scientific solid waste treatment is now being fully implemented in more than half of the state's land area through the achievements of the local bodies.

( With inputs from ANI )