Waste management and monitoring in all local bodies across the State is set to go the digital way with the implementation of the Smart Garbage Monitoring System being developed by Keltron.
The system, which will be implemented by the Haritha Keralam Mission through the Local Self Government Department, is aimed at monitoring the entire process of waste management, from door-to-door collection to recycling or processing of the same.
The LSG Department had last week approved the project, formulated based on existing systems in a handful of local bodies. According to officials of the Haritha Keralam Mission, they had looked at the Smart Trivandrum mobile application being used in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation and similar applications in Taliparamba and Vadakara municipalities to come up with an improved version that covers the entire waste management process.
“Now, we have the Haritha Karma Senas that are active in several of the panchayats and municipalities having door-to-door collection of waste. Through the Smart Garbage Monitoring System, residents as well as officials will have all the information regarding waste collection and processing at their fingertips,” says Ajaykumar P., technical officer of the Haritha Keralam Mission’s waste management division.
“For instance, Haritha Sena volunteers can identify the houses from which waste have to be collected or the house owners who have to pay the user fee, whereas the residents can know the date of the next collection or raise request for inoculum which is used in kitchen bins,” he says.
From the people’s point of view, one of the important features of the mechanism will be the complaint resolution system, by which a complaint will be forwarded automatically to the higher authority if the responsible official at the local level does not take action on time. They can also identify the nearest material recovery facility and the time of functioning through the application.
At the local body level, it will enable the officials to have a clear picture of the amount of waste collected in a specific period, the amount recycled or sold and the amount of non-biodegradable waste used for road tarring. The funds for the development of the software are being provided from the Suchitwa Mission, while the respective local bodies will take care of the recurring expenses from their Plan fund.
