’Garbage to Gold’ - Swacch Udupi Mission 2018

Bangalore Mirror

Udupi, 18 Aug 2017: Under the Swacch Udupi Mission 2018, ‘Garbage to Gold’, an Integrated and Sustainable Solid, Liquid Resource Management (SLRM) – a decentralised way of handling unwanted material or waste – was launched in Udupi district on I-Day. Training programmes and door-to-door surveys for this initiative have begun in the district.

 

The project is being implemented by C Srinivasan, resource person, Ministry of Urban Development and Project Director, Indian Green Service (IGS), based out of Vellore in Tamil Nadu. Udupi district Deputy Commissioner Priyanka Mary Francis has also come forward to implement the project.

 

Srinivasan said, “This is all about resource management. Waste is collected twice a day and it a resource because there is no smell or stench as it is cleared every 12 hours.”

 

“We will not be using big lorries or bins to collect waste. Waste will be collected door-to-door on tricycles. For every 250-300 houses, there will be one tricycle with four workers and one person in-charge,” said Srinivasan.

 

This model, also known as Vellore model, has already been implemented in several parts of the country but it is the first time it is being implemented in the entire district.

 

For the rural area, the SLRM concept will be implemented through the gram panchayats as well as rural development department. The target is to achieve 100 per cent SLRM project by Gandhi Jayanti, October 2, next year and an action plan is already in place for the next 14 months.

 

Srinivasan said, “Through SLRM, unwanted material generated from houses, shops, hotels is collected in less than 12 hours and it is called a resource. Everything looks odourless or like fresh raw material. The resource is compulsorily collected twice a day. We are not exposing our people to dirty and stinking materials. They are handling fresh items.”

 

Referring to the value of garbage generated from Udupi municipality, Srinivasan said, “For about 44,000 families and 16,000 shops, the income generated is close to Rs 14 crore per year. People will have to contribute Rs 3 towards garbage collection. About 1,960 women will be employed.”