CHENNAI: As a first step to achieving 100% source segregation of waste collected from households, the Tambaram Corporation has taken 15 wards out of 70 as model wards and is conducting face-to-face interactions with the people. The corporation plans to implement this in all the wards over the next three months.
After the ‘People Movement for Clean Cities’ was launched by Chief Minister MK Stalin to increase public involvement in cleanliness activities, officials from the corporation were taken to Indore, which was ranked first for the fifth consecutive year in the cleanliness survey. “If a waste collection vehicle goes to the doorstep, people there deposit segregated waste without even sanitary workers. As the CM is insistent on greater public participation, we are trying to inculcate a habit among people,” said M Elangovan, Tambaram Corporation Commissioner.
As part of the initiative, the corporation is taking help from the councillors. The councillors in these 15 wards have been meeting people regularly while waste is collected in the morning and creating awareness about source segregation. We have been implementing this for more than 15 days. While the waste segregation was below 40% earlier, now it has increased to 75% in these wards.
The officials have also introduced a system where points are awarded to each household based on waste segregation and those performing well would be given awards at the end of the month. “Details of the vehicle collecting waste, its timings and contact number of the drivers are also placed on every street.
The sanitary workers are also allowed to take waste that can be sold at the scarp shops to encourage them to work better. Through this, each sanitary worker gets Rs 200 to Rs 300 daily. We are also distributing manure for free if the residents have plants for providing us segregated waste,” said Nagaraj, a sanitary inspector.