THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Haritha Karma Sena is driving social and economic change, enabling thousands of women from marginalised and disadvantaged sections in the state to earn significant incomes to support their families. Sena workers, who provide door-to-door waste-management services, collected Rs 223 crore in user fee during the first ten months of this year.
It was in March that the local self-government department (LSGD) put in place a revised waste management strategy that has transformed the lives of more than 35,000 women in the state. The department move came in the wake of the fire at the Brahmapuram dumpsite, which left Kochi in a toxic haze for weeks, and subsequent High Court interventions.
Adopting a sustainable mechanism to handle tonnes of non-biodegradable waste, the LSGD launched a three-phase campaign – the Malinya Muktha Nava Keralam – to make the state garbage-free by March 2024. It introduced a mandatory user fee, helping turn trash into a resource for women handlers, who were otherwise earning meagre revenue from clearing waste.
The state has achieved nearly 87% of its target towards a zero-waste future, LSGD data shows. Sena members started earning more income as monthly user fee collection crossed Rs 30 crore. “In Thiruvananthapuram, a worker earns between Rs 19,500 and Rs 47,500 a month. This is in the range of Rs 7,000-Rs 67,000 in Malappuram,” said an official.
“When I joined the Haritha Karma Sena in 2019, I was earning hardly Rs 100 a day. Now I make Rs 980. I work 25-26 days a month,” says Rajitha, one of the 19 members of the Sena consortium in Amarambalam, Malappuram. The consortium makes more than `4 lakh a month from door-to-door waste collection and segregation.
“We used to have 10 members but many left the job because of poor incomes. Following the HC interventions, things have changed for the better. Now, worker numbers vary from 7-15 and we are cover 15 of the 19 wards in the panchayat. Next month we will expand coverage to all wards. Some members generate more income and we have decided to divide the earnings equally between all of us,” says 42-year-old Rajani K M.
The state government has fixed a minimum user fee at Rs 50 for households and Rs 100 for establishments. The money collected is divided up among the workers in the form of fixed salaries. The government has to step in in case of a shortfall.
“Every job has its dignity and I feel proud to be part of this movement. I joined the Sena despite objections from my family, but my 21-year-old son backed me. Now I earn almost double the income from my previous job,” says Prasanna Kumari K, a 45-year-old degree holder. Officials hope that the earning potential will attract more women to the Sena in the near future.