THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Various government departments will hold a joint workshop the coming Monday to discuss how various existing laws and rules can be coordinated effectively to combat ‘waste menace’ in the capital city.
The government departments are linking arms to organise a workshop on the theme ‘capital city, clean city’ at the Vanasree Auditorium as a first step. The one-day workshop will cover relevant provisions of various laws and penal provisions related to waste disposal, reduction and littering. District panchayat president V K Madhu will inaugurate the workshop. District Collector K Vasuki will deliver the keynote address.
Laws governing pollution control, the relevant provisions of the Panchayat Raj Act, Municipalities Act, Police Act and Town Planning Act and laws on public health will be covered at the workshop, the district administration said on Friday. As a follow-up to the workshop, a core committee will be formed with the District Collector as its head to arrange effective enforcement. The core committee will also study and resolve problems and limitations caused by the strict enforcement of laws.
The workshop is meant for the secretaries of the grama panchayats, chairpersons of health standing committee, health supervisors and health inspectors in the district. The state government had earlier announced plans for stern laws to tackle the contamination of waterbodies in the state. But the fact remains that the state capital has not succeeded in finding a viable solution to its garbage problem ever since the closure of the Vilappilsala waste disposal plant.
In fact, the waterbodies in Thiruvananthapuram city - be it the Parvathy Puthanar or the Karamana river - are among the most polluted. Though several projects were announced in the past to clean up these water bodies, nothing much have come of them. However, a recent campaign to restore the Killiyar to its past glory has found massive support.