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THE TIMES OF INDIA, KOCHI | MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017
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No marks for decentralized waste plan
Swachh Survekshan Survey Allots 60% Weightage For Centralized Waste Management Concept, Ignoring
The Ground Realities In Kerala And Rebuffing Its Much-Applauded Source-Level Waste Treatment Idea
Aswin.Jkumar
@timesgroup.com
T
he way in which Centre
treated Kerala in
Swachh Survekshan
survey is reminiscent of
how the Church dealt with astronomer & mathematician Galileo Galilei centuries ago. Galileo
was persecuted and put under
house arrest for supporting the
heliocentric theory that contradicted the geocentric concept.
Later, the Church acknowledged
its errors in judging the scientific points of Galileo.
Kerala was neatly wiped out
from the country’s sanitation
map and humiliated for endorsing the idea that someone’s waste
should be treated at the source
and not dumped elsewhere. It has
been wronged for making people
treat their own waste and shutting down centralized facilities.
Right from the onset, Kerala was
battling a losing game. The guidebook published by the ministry
of urban development (MoUD)
enlists six parameters (totalling
900 marks) for judging each urban local body (ULB) for cleanliness and sanitation.
The parameters for solid
waste management – which had
maximum weightage (540/900)
were solely based on the concept
of centralized waste management. Under municipal solid
waste (sweeping, cleaning and
transportation) and processing/
disposal, it included around 30
sub-categories, rooted in the belief that all local bodies in India
managed collected waste at a
single site.
MoUD did not make exceptions for Kerala which had unravelled new waste management
models over the past three years
like home composting, community aerobic bins, resource recovery centres, recyclables collection
drives and so on. In a way the
parameters that decided 60% of
the marks could well have been
ticked as ‘not applicable’ for
Kerala.
The popular model of waste
management in Kerala hardly
merits a mention in the guide-
R K Sreejith
book. Decentralized waste management is mentioned twice in
the guidebook numbering over
100 pages. Even on that count,
Kerala stands ignored. ULBs will
get highest marks only if over
75% of residential complexes
(bulk waste generators) manage
their waste, says the guidebook.
However in cities like Kochi,
Thiruvananthapuram and Alappuzha – where bulk waste generators have been managing their
own waste – the status shows not
achieved. Ironically, MoUD cites
models from Pune for reference
and is strangely mum on Kerala
that had already set exemplary
models in decentralized waste
management.
Poor documentation
and indifferent
response of certain
civic bodies cost Kerala
badly in terms of
parameters like
behavioural change &
awareness campaigns
It even adds that decentralized mode could reduce transportation cost but fails to apply the
same norm in judging states like
Kerala. The survey report further
reinforces Centre’s distaste for
decentralized models as eight
features of cities that are highlighted in the report do not feature any model on decentralized
waste management.
The parameters were decided disregarding local challenges.
The central pollution control
board’s annual report (2014-15)
had said: “As population density
is very high in Kerala, people oppose setting up of waste processing/disposal facilities. Municipalities are looking at decentralized facilities.”
“We took up this parameter
confusion several times, Centre
did not pay heed,” said executive
director of Suchitwa Mission K
Vasuki. Swati Sambyal, programme manager, Waste Management team, CSE which rated
Alappuzha among the top three
cleanest cities in India in the
KOZHIKODE’S
GOAL: BE
AMONG TOP
10 CITIES
[email protected]
THE FUTURE: Kerala has been following new waste
management models like home composting,
community aerobic bins, resource recovery centres &
recyclables collection drives over the past three years
cleanliness survey 2016 said that
Swachh Survekshan survey did
not push cities that do commendable work in waste management.
“Both Alappuzha and Panjim have no landfill sites or wasteto-energy incineration plants.
Most of their waste is converted
to compost or biogas. Inorganic
wastes like plastic, glass, metals,
papers etc are sent for recycling.
These cities make money from
solid wastes rather than spending crores in collecting and transporting wastes to landfills. Still,
Swachh Survekshan did not give
due recognition to these cities.
We have been encouraging these
models because it is where our
future lies,” said Swati.
The queer nature of other
parameters also spelt doom for
Kerala. For instance placing big
hoardings and billboards across
the city figures as the prominent
factor under information, education communication (IEC). ULBs
were supposed to erect big hoardings displaying messages of
Swachh Bharat mission in areas
having large footfall and high visibility. No ULB in Kerala took this
norm seriously, said officials.
KOZHIKODE
SURVEYORS, YOU MISSED THESE POINTS
➤ Alappuzha, ranked 380 in Swachh
Survekshan survey, was one
among the three clean cities to be
awarded by Centre for Science and
Environment in 2016
➤ The decentralized model that
came into effect over the past three
years now deals with 75% of total
waste management, covering a total
population of 2.5 lakh and a floating
population of 50,000
➤ Central pollution control board’s
annual report (2014-15) enlists
Palakkad and Alappuzha among
the 27 cities in Kerala which
practise good initiatives in waste
management. Palakkad was ranked
286 in Swachh Survekshan survey
➤ 187 tonnes of low-grade
plastics were collected from four
corporations and 37 municipalities by
Clean Kerala Company between 2014
and 2017
HOW SOLID
WASTE
MANAGEMENT
IS PROGRESSING
887
POINTS
RANK
254
Population: 6,09,224
Area: 119 sq. Km
Wards: 75
People employed in waste
management: 712
Present system: Partially
centralized system
KOCHI
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
Total population: 6,01,574
Area: 95 sq km
Wards: 74
POINTS
Households: 1,99,294
RANK
People employed
in waste
management: 1,284
Present method: Centralized
plant and bio-bins
Total population: 9,57,730
Area: 215 sq km
POINTS
Wards: 100
Households: 2,14,172
RANK
People employed in waste
management: 1,102
Present method
Decentralized waste management
initiated
617
856
372
271
SCORING PATTERN*
360
180 135
Processing
and
disposal of
municipal
solid waste
Public and
community toilets
➤ 320 tonnes of e-waste was
collected from local bodies in Kerala
in three years
Sweeping,
collection and
transportation
of municipal
solid waste
➤ 36,546.28 kg of shredded plastic
supplied for road tarring since 2016
(*There are sub-parameters like maintenance and
cleanliness for each section)
135
Individual
Toilets
45
Strategy
for ODF and
SWM
45
IEC/
Behaviour
change
communication
*TOTAL
SCORE
900
Kozhikode: Kozhikode corporation,
which secured the 254th place in the
Swachh Survekshan survey, has now
set itself a goal, attain a place in the
list of top 10 clean cities in the country. Kozhikode topped the list of urban local bodies in the state with a
score of 887 points in the survey.
The survey had evaluated cities
on waste collection, municipal solid
waste processing and disposal, open
defecation free /toilets, sweeping
and transportation, education and
behaviour change and capacity
building.
The civic body has envisaged
slew of measures to improve the
overall waste disposal and management and put in place a permanent
mechanism. It has earmarked nearly Rs 8 crore for waste management
in 2017-18 under the 13th Plan.
Though the civic body had
banned plastic carry bags and illegal
dumping of septic waste, there is no
mechanism for the disposal of generated plastic and other non-degradable waste.
Corporation standing committee chairman (health) KV Baburaj
said Kozhikode has begun its journey to be among the top 10 clean cities. “Our aim is to make the corporation one of the cleanest city in the
country. We have already identified
the flaws in the existing waste disposal and management system and
have taken measures to resolve issues. We have purchased equipment
and vehicles for the effective waste
removal and transportation spending Rs 45 lakh. We have taken steps
to appoint required sanitation staff
to fill vacant posts. Projects worth
around Rs 8 crore will be executed
this year in the waste management
sector to put in place an effective
mechanism for the disposal of degradable and non-degradable waste.
A special drive to create public
awareness on the importance of
keeping the city clean will also be
initiated,” he said.
Self-appraisal: Tvm scores a ‘self-goal’ How Kochi slipped to 271
File photo
[email protected]
Thiruvananthapuram: Capital city’s sloppy
scores in Swachh Survekshan something akin to
a batsman running himself out on an unplayable
pitch. The capital corporation, which now carries
the shameful tag of being the dirtiest corporation
in the state as per the survey report, might have
been hurt by the poor administrative skills in
addition to parameters that hardly matched the
mode of waste management in the city.
Urban local bodies (ULBs) are ranked based
on data provided by municipal body that is collected through direct observation and independent assessment and collection of direct citizen
feedback. The corporation was way too honest in
self-assessment. Under municipal self-declaration, the city corporation gave itself a measly
score of 109 out of 900, which is even lower than
the state average of 179. None of the other civic
bodies in the state had stooped to such levels in
self-assessment. Kozhikode, which topped the
ULBs in the state, had put a score of 404 in municipal self-declaration.
The civic body’s humility was ironic as independent observation by the agency and citizens
rank corporation much higher than what the
civic body thought of itself in cleanliness and
sanitation. Under on-site observation, corpora-
tion scored 284 marks out of 500 and citizens gave
224 marks for corporation out of 600.
Indifferent attitude of officials – who were
supposed to provide documentary evidence to the
survey team – was evident from the beginning of
the survey. On the first day of the survey, the
agency had reported that city corporation was
unresponsive to appeals for furnishing documents. It was only after intervention from the
top, some change was effected in terms of cooperating with surveying agency.
What it meant was that corporation’s good
efforts in home composting, community bins and
collection drives for recyclables went unnoticed.
Fifth phase: 85 ponds
cleaned within 37days
TOI
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Kochi: ‘The 100 ponds, 50 days project’ has achieved a
new milestone in the fifth
phase as the district administration completed cleaning
of 85 ponds. This achievement was made within 37 days of launching the initiative. And, during the next week
it is expected that they will
cross the target of cleaning
100 ponds.
‘100 PONDS, 50 DAYS
PROJECT’
In the wake of unprecedented drought experienced
by the district it is essential
to convert these water bodies
into reservoirs of fresh water. The plan is to clean maximum ponds in the district before the onset of monsoon. It
is pointed out as the ponds
got a fresh life, the dried up
PRESERVING WATER BODIES
wells in the adjacent areas also started getting water.
Ponds in Kochi corporation,
neighbouring municipalities and panchayats and even
that in tribal settlements of
the district are being cleaned.
According to district administration 20 years ago
there were more than 2,500
ponds in Ernakulam, and
over the years the numbers
have reduced to around 600.
District collector Muham-
mad Y Safirulla said that the
state was facing issues like rising temperature, depleting
ground water and scanty
monsoon. He said that rejuvenating water bodies and
natural sources of water was
the need of the hour. “It is
possible to undertake such
works with the cooperation
of local residents and local
bodies,” he said. The local bodies will be responsible for
maintaining these ponds once cleaning works are over.
Haritha Kerala Mission,
Kudumbashree
Mission,
Nehru Yuva Kendra, local bodies, Anbodu Kochi, NSS
unit members of various
schools and various other organizations joined hands to
implement the pond cleaning
programme. The programme will wind up before the
onset of monsoon. When the
unused ponds were cleaned,
the dried-up wells in nearby
places started getting water.
The civic body had made commendable strides
in managing recyclables over the past one year.
The corporation collected 235 tonnes of plastic
waste in 2016 from various collection drives organized in the city since January 2016. This was
revealed in the budget document (2017-18) presented by the health committee.
Unlike other local bodies, the corporation
also broadened collection drive to include objects
like glass, e-waste and sandals. Nearly 250 tonnes
of glass waste, 15 tonnes of e-waste and 25 tonnes
of old sandals were collected by the corporation
in a year. The number assumes significance as
the corporation almost singlehandedly collected
and transported non-biodegradable waste to recycling units in Tamil Nadu.
The corporation had also covered nearly
10,000 households in terms of installation of
kitchen bins in a year. The civic body which
scored zero in capacity building, awareness campaigns and behaviour change conducted over 50
public conventions, mobilized school and college
students for decentralized waste management
campaigns and conducted two live demos for
kitchen compost in the past one year, initiatives
which never got recorded during the survey. However corporation’s bad scores in toilets was reflective of the poor upkeep of public toilets in the
city.
from 4th rank in 2015
[email protected]
Kochi: How would you react if the
sanitation level of individual
household latrines in Kochi was
recorded as zero? If you take the
Swachh Survekshan survey, Kochi
got a big zero in the 150 marks reserved for sanitation of individual
household latrines. If you think
those who were in charge of assessment committed a big mistake, then
you are wrong. The marks were
given solely on the basis of supportive documents the civic body provided.
This would indicate how Kochi
– placed 4th in 2015 – slipped in to
55 in 2016 and settled down at 271 in
2017. The poor ranking doesn’t reflect the ground realities. Kochi
lags in terms of infrastructure and
other facilities, but still, the rank
would have been well in the top 100.
But, the corporation’s failure
to showcase the strong points of
CITYLIGHTS
Kochi dragged down its rankings.
“We couldn’t announce open defection-free (ODF) status. So, we got
zero for sanitation of individual
household latrines. We had identified 1,950 beneficiaries. But, we
couldn’t distribute the first instalment of the aid being given to the
beneficiaries as part of Swachh
Sarvekshan when independent observers from the Centre arrived,”
said chairperson of health committee V K Minimol. Kochi is yet to
complete the distribution of the
final instalment of the aid. As latrines were yet to be constructed,
Kochi failed on the ODF front.
The ranking was given at threelevels: Independent observer, citizen feedback and service. Centre’s
independent observers gave 356 out
of 500, which was almost equal to
the marks attained by top 20 cities.
The city scored 291 out of 600 in
citizen feedback, which reflects the
ground reality.
R K Sreejith
Outsmarting the
opponent
After deputy mayor of
Kochi corporation T J Vinod
assumed the charge of Ernakulam DCC president, he
used to skip the corporation
council meetings. Vinod
was expected to quit the deputy mayor’s post after presentation of budget in
March. As the ruling front
couldn’t find a successor for
Vinod even after more than a
month since the presentation of budget, opposition
raised the issue in the council which met last week. V P
Chandran, CPM member,
criticised the failure on the
part of deputy mayor in discharging his duties. He
asked the Congress leadership why they couldn’t find a
replacement for Vinod.
Then, he said that the LDF
was ready to offer opposition leader K J Antony for
the post if the ruling front
faces shortage of candidates. Chandran’s remarks
were accepted by opposition
RISKY AFFAIR: The leaning street lamp near Changampuzha Park is
posing a threat to commuters
with a great round of applause. After a short while’s
dismay, a ruling front member shot back. “We have
enough candidates with us
for deputy mayor’s post.
Chandran has been eyeing
on the post. That’s why he is
in a hurry to avoid Antony,”
he said.
Kochi failed on the service
front where scores are given only
on the basis of documents provided
by the local body. The city secured
383 out of 1000. Documents related
to deploying Kudumbashree workers were also missing. The local
body couldn’t furnish many of the
documents.
Corporation had decided to
make Kochi a bin-free city as garbage started to accumulate in the
area. So, authorities decided to do
away with the bins and Kochi lost
80 marks as part of citizens’ feedback.
The corporation is delaying the
construction of a solid waste treatment promoting unviable projects.
“The Brahmapuram waste treatment plant which is not functioning properly, unhygienic markets
contributed to the poor performance,” said V P Chandran, a
member of the health standing
committee.
The court order
stays but…
How to douse
a fire scare?
Two days ago officials of
Kalamasery municipality
were entrusted with the task
of demolishing an illegally
extended portion of a house.
The house owner had extended the portion towards
the main road. Knowing this
the civic body served him a
notice to demolish the extension. Since he failed to do so,
the officials reached his
house along with police two
days ago to execute the directive. As there was no one
in the house, officials collected his number from a relative and called him. But the
owner was not attending the
call and the officials started
to demolish the extension.
After half an hour, the owner turned up with a stay order from the court. When he
found the extension was partially demolished, the owner tried to attack the officials
but police foiled his attempt.
Though the officials stopped
the demolition work midway, one wonders what relief
has the stay order brought to
the house owner.
Several passionate attendees at a recently held national conference in the city
put aside their dedication
and rushed towards the exit
fearing that a fire had broken out at the venue. Though
fumes were emanating from
the place, the situation was
brought under control.
While attendees were rushing to the door, the organizers were trying to assure
them that it was not a major
fire and requested them to
remain seated. Suddenly
one of the escaping attendees turned to the organizer
and said, “One of the organizers told us to exit.”
Shocked at this response,
the organizer finally found
out the volunteer who was
responsible for spreading
the panic. Asked about his
motive behind shouting fire
in a crowded room, the volunteer simply responded,
“better safe than sorry.”
(Contributed by M K Sunil Kumar, T C Sreemol and
Vikram Vinod)