Visakhapatnam Towards a bin-less City

The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation has gone to great lengths to give its citizens a clean and green city. Thus, it has involved itself in different areas like sanitation, city maintenance and health. Everyday around 1000metric tonnes of waste is generated in the city out of which 50% is industrial waste. This includes waste from Vizag port, HPCL, Coromandel Fertiliser and NTPC. And thus to tackle the issue, GVMC is likely to go in for integrated solid waste management (ISWM) under public-private partnership for disposal of its garbage. The Corporation has called for tenders and the evaluation process is going on. Under the ISWM, the private agency that qualifies will take the entire chain of collection, transportation, processing and disposal of garbage. It will provide land and tipping fee per each tonne of garbage disposed. The amount required for creation of the infrastructure for disposal of the solid waste is estimated at र 182 crore.

Sanitation is also getting top priority with new packages being introduced for wards and workers being given particular stretches with numbers assigned to them. Called ‘pinpoint’ sanitation, the main aim is to ensure that each worker does his/her job and accountability is fixed. The Corporation will engage 6000 employees, ie, engaging six staff in every 200sqm area who will sweep the roads and clean the drains. Besides, officials are being asked to supervise the work early in the morning and make use of the garbage collecting trucks to lift the garbage. GVMC has also set up a Greenforce team, which ensures that the miscreants are caught/ fined for littering or spitting in public places.

The Corporation is also taking initiatives in making the city ‘dust-bin free’ with the help of an agency, Envirosez. In some wards, the Corporation is planning to implement door-to-door collection of garbage which will be transported with the help of 1500 autos to the disposal unit. The wastes collected from individual house-holds will then be brought to one central place from where it will be transported to the disposal point. The GVMC has tied-up with Ramky group to install a RDF plant in its 50 acres of landfill. It also plans to recycle the storm-water and drainage water which will be sold to the industries. The Corporation has also involved 700 residential welfare associations; these organisations involve women SHGs (Self-help Group) in maintaining the locality and even in cleaning the drains. GVMC has around six mechanised sweepers and three drain-cleaning machines. There are around twelve compactors stationed in different locations of the city.

There are around 18 Urban Health Centers, hospitals which are controlled by Municipal Corporation. The wastes generated from these hospitals are managed on a PPP model. Even the staff from these hospitals is well-trained to manage the waste.

Another initiative by GVMC is to convert the burial ground/ cement tomb into parks/gardens. Instead of building a cement tomb, the corporation encourages citizens to plant trees in the name of the deceased. So far, the Corporation has managed to convert six such burial grounds into parks/gardens.

Preeti Swaminathan