1K panchayats take up green drive

Tadipatri (Anantapur): The solid waste management project under ‘Swachh Anantapur’ is being implemented in all the 1,000 odd panchayats in 63 mandals in the district.

The panchayats would launch the scheme under the 'Swachh Bharath' programme and collect the garbage from every house. Tonnes of garbage would be collected by the panchayat workers and brought to vermicompost yards where the garbage is segregated into dry, wet and plastic garbage.

The wet and dry garbage would be transferred into vermicompost pits and processed into organic manure. The collected garbage would be processed into organic manure. 

Gotlur panchayat is the first to launch the solid waste management programme. Speaking to The Hans India at the compost yard, Gotlur sarpanch Shivaiah said the scheme devised by the panchayat was aimed at boosting the financial position of panchayat and earn extra revenue for it to undertake development programmes.

The programme would also contribute to a cleaner environment and good health to people. Machines to compress plastic and other metals into a condensed form is being procured by all the panchayats so that the plastic and metallic garbage can be exported in condensed form.

Assistant Project Director Lavanya Kumari of Tadipatri division told The Hans India that 67 gram panchayats out of 104 spread in five mandals in Hindupur division have already launched the solid waste management project.

Compost yards are being built and organic manure is being produced out of tonnes of wet waste. Vermi compost yards have been built in 12 panchayats and organic manure is being produced and sold to farmers at Rs 10 a kg. Pulla Reddy, Assistant Project Director, DWMA, who is heading Hindupur division, said five mandals had already launched the programme under Swachh Bharath, which include building latrines under the ODF scheme and solid waste management techniques under ODF plus programme.

Speaking to The Hans India, DWMA Project Director Jyothibasu said that 140 solid waste management programmes had been taken up with an investment of Rs 5.43 crore. The idea is not only to generate additional income for panchayats but also to create a disease-free villages and clean and green environment for locals. He said all the 1,000 odd panchayaths would implement the waste disposal scheme and produce organic manure.