Date:08/02/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/02/08/stories/2006020808430500.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Namakkal getting ready for ISO certification audit

R. Sujatha

Three-year effort at improvement makes the town dustbin-free

What people do Segregate waste at home No dustbins on streets, hence no litter Stack of unwanted/recyclable items Keep yards clean; no stray cattle or dogs Political parties put up hoardings What municipality does Levies charges for garbage collection Trains sanitary workers on cleanliness Solar-powered lights/fences at crematorium Uses organic compost for parks Has banned commercial hoardings.

MULTI-PURPOSE: The mop-up vehicle of the Namakkal municipality that alerts residents on civic dues and warns them against littering.

CHENNAI: The Namakkal municipality is preparing for the final ISO-14001 pre-certification audit, to be conducted from February 15 to 17.

The municipality's three-year effort at improvement is a story of successful management.

The Supreme Court, in a 2004 order rapping the States and the Centre for the delay in implementing municipal solid waste management rules, lauded the municipality and urged smaller towns to learn from Namakkal's efforts at becoming a dustbin-free "zero garbage" town, "complying with the Municipal Solid Waste Rules since 2003 with no financial input from the State or the Centre."

Garbage burnt

The streets are litter-free, but in some vacant plots, a few still burn garbage, say residents. In some affluent areas, along the compound walls of government buildings, a few plastic bags are strewn. But, among the poorer sections, truck tyres are stacked neatly along the wall for being taken away by lorry owners to the recycle factory.

Sanitary workers clean streets every morning. Garbage is collected in colour-coded bins. Residents must segregate garbage at home. In a public-private partnership, under which the municipality pays Rs. 2.60 lakh for garbage clearance, employees are expected to keep the road garbage-free. Namakkal has grown around State highways that connect the town to Erode, Salem, Tiruchi and Karur. It boasts of 80 private hospitals, besides a district headquarters hospital.

The town, which has a population of 53,000 and a floating population of 15,000, generates 21 tonne of waste a day. The lorry body building industry generates 3.5 tonne. Poultry excreta and waste accounts for another 0.5 tonne, and automobile units generate 0.05 tonne. The municipality has two landfills at Kosavampatti (8.05 acres) and Ladduvadi (13.41 acres).

Plans have been mooted to scientifically manage the landfills. "Sixty per cent of our waste has been converted to wealth," says municipal commissioner P. Kanthasami. "The lorry owners pick up tyres and sell them at Salem. Plastic is recycled, and organic waste composted." The municipality buys back vermicompost, netting Rs. 3.34 lakh a year. Recyclable waste fetches another Rs. 3.70 lakh.

Charges are levied on all commercial establishments for lifting waste. Hospital waste is autoclaved. The town has no dustbins: littering attracts a fine ranging from Rs. 100 to Rs. 1,000. Even the bus stand, the only entry point to the town, cluttered with scores of shops and vendors, is garbage-free. The municipality is moving ahead to prevent mosquito breeding.

Municipal chairperson S. Gandhiselvan says: "We have taken steps to set up a rock garden at Namakkal similar to the one in Chandigarh." The aim is to make it an eco-city.