Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SS/HB)

Udupi, Apr 3: Rural Development and Panchayat Raj minister K S Eshwarappa on Sunday, April 3 announced that the government plans to set up 50 solid waste management units this year to dispose of and process the dry wastes collected in villages all over Karnataka.

He was speaking at a function here after inaugurating an integrated solid waste management unit at Padavunali  of Nitte Grama Panchayat held under the joint auspices of the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj department, Udupi district administration, Udupi Zilla Panchayat, taluk and gram panchayats of Karkala as part of the Swacch Bharat Mission (rural).

The minister said the solid waste management unit will not only help in generating employment opportunities for the local candidates but also actualise the prime minister’s dream of Swacch Bharat mission in Karnataka. Eshwarappa said the unit will help in finding an effective solution to dispose of solid wastes at gram panchayats.Eshwarappa said he had ordered all the CEOs of the Zilla Panchayats to visit the first integrated solid waste management unit at Nitte to study its functioning and implement them at their respective ZPs. He also said that the functioning of the waste management unit would be shown to rural development ministers of all the states at a meeting to be held in New Delhi so that the Centre could extend financial assistance to set up such integrated waste units.

The minister said the government will accord a financial grant of Rs 50 lac to set up a thermocol-based solid waste management unit soon. He said the government will release a financial grant of Rs 2 crore to build a new building to house the taluk panchayat office in Hebri, adding that additional financial grants will be released to develop rural roads in the district.

Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shobha Karandlaje said the Centre was laying emphasis on building toilets in rural and urban areas and in the scientific disposal of solid wastes under the Swacch Bharat Mission. She said programmes have been devised to convert wet waste into fertiliser and dry waste into meaningful resources, adding that the waste management units at Nitte would be a model for other similar units in the country.

Shobha Karandlaje disclosed that the Centre has recently released Rs 180 crore for the four-lane road of the Mala Gate-Karkala highway besides financing various developmental programmes in Karkala and its surrounding taluks such as development of roads, building of an indoor stadium under the CRF Nidhi scheme and the Pradhan Mantri Sadak Yojana.

Kannada and Culture Minister Sunil Kumar said the waste management units are functioning well because of public cooperation despite opposition from some quarters. He said all efforts were being made to dispose of all wastes efficiently in Karkala and convert it into a model taluk.

An exhibition was inaugurated and a book was released on the occasion.

Karavali Development Authority chairman M Ratnakar Hegde, MLC Manjunath Bhandary, legislator of Kaup Lalaji R Menden, Karnataka Cashew Development Board chairman Maniraj Shetty,  Nitte ZP chairman Satish Poojary and deputy commissioner Kurma Rao and Swami Ekgamyanandaji of Mangaluru Ramakrishna Mission were among those who were present.

Zilla Panchayat CEO Dr Naveen Bhat and chief development officer Srinivasa Rao also spoke. Karkala TP ZP Gurudutt proposed a vote of thanks.  Mahesh Kaaduru compered the programme.