NAGAPATTINAM: Kilvelur town panchayat in Nagapattinam, with a population of not more than 9,500, has topped Tamil Nadu in being the cleanest local body in Swachh Survekshan for 2023, a survey conducted in cities. Kilvelur has also been ranked the cleanest local body in the list of southern states (south zone).
According to officials, there are 9,500 people in the village in 2,500 households in the town panchayat which has 15 wards. The waste collection is 3.2 metric tons including 1.6 tons of biodegradable wastes and 1.2 tons of non-biodegradable waste.
Town panchayat chairperson S Indiragandhi, vice chairperson S Chandrasekaran, executive officer K Kuhan and director Kiran Gurrala received the award from Manoj Joshi, secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, for the cleanest local body with a population less than 15,000 in south zone category at a ceremony held in New Delhi on Thursday.
"The increase in awareness among people in waste segregation at source was crucial in achieving the top rank. We also improved our solid waste management by distributing wet waste compost for gardening and providing sanitary workers an additional income from recycling of dry wastes," the chairperson said.
In the previous survey, Kilvelur was ranked 145 out of 307 among the local bodies in the state and was 160 among 350 in the south zone, although the parameters were different.
K Kuhan, executive officer of the town panchayat, said, "Our efforts in improving the number of individual household toilets secured us an ODF+ (Open Defection Free Plus) in the survey. Maintenance of the public places was also rewarded with a star in the 'Garbage Free' aspect."
Measures such as renovating public toilets, improving lighting facilities and distribution of bins to public also helped the panchayat secure the top spot.
A total of 35 sanitary workers work for the town panchayat. P Somanathan, a sanitary worker said, "People have made our jobs easier with complete source segregation. They are empathetic towards our challenges and support us well."
M Pakkirisamy, a representative of Sri Balaji Nagar Residents Welfare Association said, "The sanitary workers are always punctual in waste collection. Their involvement in maintaining cleanliness is also impressive."
A Rangaraj, a representative of the Kilvelur Traders Association said, "Initially, the traders felt bothered over the stringent directions issued by the town panchayat. Then, we began supporting the local body after seeing the outcomes. We have a good rapport with town panchayat as one of their staffs attend our monthly meetings and coordinate with us."
