Thiruvananthapuram: The launch of Kerala’s first Compressed Biogas (CBG) plant at Brahmapuram marks a major step in the State’s waste management drive, with the most difficult phase of the mission now complete, Minister for Local Self Governments and Excise M. B. Rajesh said on Wednesday, The Hindu reported.
Addressing a press conference in Kerala, Rajesh said the remaining goals in waste management are relatively easier to achieve. He noted that 38,355 Haritha Karma Sena volunteers are collecting non-biodegradable waste from 95.99 lakh households across the State. The number of material collection facilities has increased significantly to 22,838 compared to a few years ago.
He said more CBG plants are being readied in various cities. Work on four double-chamber incinerators for processing sanitary waste is under way and expected to be completed within a few months. The State has also reclaimed 70 acres of land by clearing old dump sites.
The minister also reviewed key initiatives undertaken by his departments over the past five years, including the declaration of the State as free from extreme poverty and fully digitally literate. He said the KSMART application, which enables digital service delivery through local bodies, has handled 1.11 crore files so far, of which 1.04 crore have been disposed of. As many as 24.74 lakh applications were cleared within 24 hours of submission.
On housing, Rajesh said the Left Democratic Front government has completed five lakh houses under the LIFE mission since 2017. The total expenditure on housing during this period was ₹20,831.60 crore, including ₹18,342.70 crore from the State government and the rest from the Union government.
He added that the State’s allocation to local bodies was ₹29,500 crore between 2011-12 and 2015-16. The allocation rose to ₹52,648 crore during the previous LDF term and has increased further to ₹70,526 crore in the current term.
