Solid and Liquid Resource Management (SLRM) Centres would be started in 40 more gram panchayats (GPs) in phases in Udupi district in the financial year 2019-20 under the Swachh Udupi Mission.
The Swachh Udupi Mission was launched on August 15, 2017 to promote cleanliness in the gram panchayats in the district. Under this mission, SLRM Centres have been set up in 50 gram panchayats of the district.
The gram panchayats have to identify land and building where an SLRM Centre could be set up.
“If they have the land and not the building, ₹ 20 lakh can be given to them under the Swachh Bharat Mission to construct the building, buy a vehicle and other equipment,” said Srinivas Rao, Chief Planning Officer of the Zilla Panchayat, told The Hindu.
In the first phase, the SLRM Centres would be extended to 10 gram panchayats. They are Belur, Nada, Hombadi-Mandady, Katbeltur, Jadkal, Palli, Renjala, Mudar, Cherkady and Kodibettu.
Under the mission, houses and business establishments in the gram panchayats are encouraged to segregate waste at source. The segregated waste is brought to the SLRM Centres, where the wet waste is used for production of manure, while dry waste is further segregated and sold for recycling.
In the 50 gram panchayats, where this drive in being implemented, waste is being collected daily in 23 gram panchayats and weekly in 27 gram panchayats.
“The gram panchayats also collect fees of ₹ 30 per house per month and ₹ 100 per month from business establishments. They collect ₹ 500 per month from hotels, bars, restaurants and wedding halls. But the fees collected varies in different gram panchayats,” Mr. Rao said.
“All these gram panchayats together have earned ₹ 45 lakh by recycling 2,500 tonnes of dry waste and also 3,500 tonnes of wet waste in the last 22 months,” he said.
The response to the implementation of this waste to resource programme has been positive in those gram panchayats where they have been implemented, but there is still resistance among people in gram panchayats, where it is yet to be implemented.
“They wrongly believe that smell may emanate from SLRM Centres. They have to be convinced about its working,” he said.