Let waste management be key agenda for local body polls, says M B Rajesh

Noting that the state has made commendable progress during the first year of the campaign, Rajesh said that this should not lead to complacency as much more needs to be done in the days to come.

LSG Minister M B Rajesh addressing the workshop organised by Kerala Institute for Local Administration as part of Malinya Muktham Nava Keralam campaign Photo | Express

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Pitching for scaling up the sustainable waste management drive across the state, Local Self-Government Minister M B Rajesh said that the performance in the domain should set the agenda for the next local body elections.

The minister was addressing a workshop organised by the Kerala Institute for Local Administration (KILA) in Thiruvananthapuram for district-level functionaries of the Malinya Muktham Nava Keralam campaign.

“Waste management is one of the basic responsibilities of the local bodies and let the people make it the most important criterion for judging their performance when the elections take place next year,” Rajesh said. Noting that the state has made commendable progress during the first year of the campaign, Rajesh said that this should not lead to complacency as much more needs to be done in the days to come.

He appreciated the role of the ground-level functionaries for the achievements and sought their wholehearted cooperation as the campaigns moved on to the second year, setting more ambitious targets to be secured.

“Malinya Muktham Nava Keralam campaign has created a positive change in the society since its launch. But we need to maintain the momentum in 2024-25 as well to achieve the ultimate goal. We have learnt lessons from the previous phase and now we have a better idea about our strengths and weaknesses. To maintain the thrust, we have to focus on the areas that need further improvement,” the minister said.

“Saturation and sustainability can’t be achieved without behavioural change and a mass movement similar to the People’s Planning is the need of the hour,” Rajesh said, suggesting that more IEC activities need to be taken up with the participation of students, youth and civil society outfits.

“Developing necessary infrastructure is required for waste management. Similarly, total digitisation will ensure proper monitoring and timely interventions. Also, more attention needs to be paid towards managing special waste like septage, e-waste and co struction & demolition waste,” he said.