THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Setting a model for the rest of Kerala, two grama panchayats – Keezhallur and Peralassery, both in Kannur district – have achieved 100% management of biodegradable waste, marking a major milestone under the state’s decentralised sanitation efforts.
The achievement comes as part of the Local Self Government Department’s ambitious Malinya Muktham Nava Keralam campaign, which focuses on strengthening scientific waste management practices across urban and rural local bodies.
After successfully rolling out door-to-door collection of non-biodegradable waste through Haritha Karma Sena units, the department piloted a project aimed at ensuring 100% source-level management of biodegradable waste. As part of this initiative, 50 grama panchayats and 25 municipalities were selected.
A detailed baseline survey was conducted across these local bodies to identify infrastructural and behavioural gaps. However, after months of sustained efforts, only two panchayats – Keezhallur and Peralassery – have so far achieved the target in full.
Peralassery panchayat president T Suneesh said the milestone was the result of consistent follow up and public engagement. “There are 7,796 households in the panchayat. Based on the survey findings, we distributed around 7,255 ring compost units. While most households adopted the system, about 70 lacked facilities in the last survey. We intensified awareness campaigns and convinced them to implement source-level waste management,” he said.
He added that sustaining the achievement would be the next major challenge. “We will ensure regular monitoring and take strict action against households that fail to use the facilities. In addition, two aerobic composting units have been installed for community-level waste processing,” said Suneesh.
Keezhallur panchayat, which hosts the Kannur International Airport, also reached the milestone by addressing critical infrastructural gaps. “There are around 5,000 households in our panchayat. We were able to identify and fix key gaps quickly and achieve 100% biodegradable waste management,” said panchayat president C Sajeevan.
Despite incentives such as a 5% property tax rebate for households practising scientific waste management, officials noted that public participation remains uneven in many local bodies.
According to LSGD officials, the project’s progress was temporarily slowed due to the recent local body elections. “More local bodies are expected to achieve the target by the end of March. The elections caused some delays, but with new councils taking charge, implementation is expected to accelerate,” an official said.