Govt, Opposition join hands to make Kerala free of garbage by March 2025

At the all-party meeting, convened by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday, the UDF extended full support to the campaign to rid the state of garbage issues.

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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a rare show of unity, post the tragic death of a sanitation worker while cleaning a canal in Thiruvananthapuram city, the state government and the Opposition have joined hands to transform Kerala into a garbage-free state by March 2025. Keeping the ambitious goal in mind, an all-party meeting chalked out a detailed action plan to implement the ‘Malinya Muktham Nava Keralam’ campaign.

At the all-party meeting, convened by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday, the UDF extended full support to the campaign to rid the state of garbage issues. The campaign will emphasise on reducing waste, effective segregation, source-level treatment of solid and liquid waste, scientific handling of non-biodegradable waste.

The meeting was held as a prelude to the campaign, which will officially take off on October 2 (Gandhi Jayanti) and conclude on March 30, 2025, International Zero Waste Day. The campaign will begin with the inauguration of various waste management models at state, district and local body levels, said a government statement. The locations of these waste management models will be announced officially on September 20. The preparations for the inauguration will be completed by September 30.

CM Pinarayi stresses on adopting green practices

Ahead of the implementation of waste management models, neighbourhoods, rural and urban areas, government offices and public sector undertakings, tourist destinations, educational institutions and campuses must adopt green practices, CM Pinarayi Vijayan said in the statement. As part of the campaign, collective efforts will be made to spread public awareness, set up sewage treatment plants and clean up water bodies and canal networks.

The meeting also decided to form a high-level executive committee chaired by the chief minister and leader of opposition, and with ministers of LSGD, water resources, agriculture, health and family welfare, public works, tourism, education and higher education departments and the vice-chairman of the state planning board as its vice-chairpersons. The chief secretary will be the convener.

The meeting also decided to intensify inspections at check-posts to ensure that banned plastic products do not enter the state. Guidelines for these inspections will be drawn up and the checkpoints will be designated as green checkpoints, said the statement. Efforts will also be made to ensure that shops and commercial establishments do not stock banned plastic products.

The CM said achieving the campaign’s goals within the time frame is possible if everyone works together. Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan said the state should have a strict system in place to curb the availability and production of single-use plastic. CPM state secretary M V Govindan emphasised the need to educate and convince the public about the necessity of waste processing centres.

Attendees of all-party meet

The all-party meeting held virtually was attended by Achuthsankar S Nair (Congress-I), MLA E Chandrasekharan (CPI), MLA N Shamsudeen (IUML), K Anandakumar (Kerala Congress - M), P J Joseph (Kerala Congress), Mathew T Thomas (Janata Dal - Secular), P M Suresh Babu (NCP), K G Premjith (Kerala Congress - B), Shaji G S Panicker (RSP - Leninist), K R Girijan (Kerala Congress - Jacob), C Krishnakumar (BJP), Dr Varghese George (Rashtriya Janata Dal), Babu Divakaran (RSP), Kasim Irikkur (INL), and P C Joseph (Democratic Kerala Congress). Ministers M B Rajesh, K Rajan and Ramachandran Kadannappally, Chief Secretary Venu V, and Additional Chief Secretary Sharada Muraleedharan also participated