THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Minister for Local Self-governments M B Rajesh on Wednesday said that the local self-government institutions (LSGIs) that have met the criteria set by the LSGD will be declared garbage-free LSGIs on the occasion of the international day of zero-waste on March 30 (Sunday).
So far, around 8,337 wards have been declared zero garbage wards and a total of 126 gram panchayats and 13 municipalities have already been officially declared waste-free so far, said M B Rajesh at a press conference held here on Wednesday. The minister said that around five local bodies are lagging in progress. The LSGD has set 13 criteria and the local bodies who are able to meet a minimum of 80 per cent of the required conditions will be able to declared zero-waste LSGIs on Sunday. He said that the district level declarations will be held on April 5.
The minister said that the government doesn’t intend to stop the efforts after the declaration. “Our aim is to achieve 100 per cent progress and sustaining these efforts would be key. Comprehensive waste management, digital tracking, establishing resource recovery parks are part of the action plan,” said the minister.
He said that centralised plants will be set up in major cities. “The 150 tonne-bio CNG plant at Brahmapuram is nearing completion and will become operational by May 2025, “ he said. Five new Bio-CNG plants are in the pipeline at Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Changanassery, Kollam, and Thrissur with a combined capacity of 680 tonnes per day. He said that a 200-tonne capacity CBG plant is under construction through public-private partnership at Kanjikode in Palakkad and will become operational by December 2025.
