KOZHIKODE: By eliminating waste materials from its 21 wards, the Chelannur Grama Panchayat has emerged an emulative model for local bodies across the district. Through its comprehensive scheme to combat waste menace titled ‘Shuchitwa Gramam, Sundara Gramam’, the panchayat has exported 32 load of wastes to the plants in Karnataka.
Panchayat president C P Sreedharan Master told City Express that they had developed an effective mechanism wherein the panchayat officials, members, self-help groups, voluntary organisations and other stake holders were given specific roles in implementing the project. As per the project, waste are being collected from households, streets and other institutions within their respective wards. To ensure the smooth implementation of the project, a panchayat-level committee was formed in addition to the ward-level committees. The ward members are discharging the duty of key functionaries.
Besides, 10,000 leaflets are distributed to spread awareness against increasing waste threat and its hazardous effects. The leaflets also help in educating the general public about how the waste is collected and segregated.
Each ward is being supervised by Kudmbasree members. The panchayat had allocated `8 lakh to meet various requirements, including waste collection, segregation and transportation. An amount of `27,000 was paid to the carriers per each load. The project, launched in May 2015, was implemented with the technical support of Niravu Vengeri.