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Kalyan aims for top 25 in Swachh survey
Kalyan
The twin cities have upped cleanliness drives as the final Swachh survey nears.
With the quarterly result showing an improvement, Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) claimed it is trying to be among the top 25 cleanest cities in the country.
In the first two quarterly ranking of Swachh Sarvekshan which was declared recently, the civic body ranked 16th and 17th position respectively.
“We have ranked 16th and 17th in below 10-lakh population category. Our aim is to reach the top 25 cities in cleanliness,” said Umakant Gaikwad, deputy municipal commissioner, KDMC.
As per the Swachch Survekshan 2018-19, the KDMC ranked 77 in a yearly survey. Earlier the survey was conducted yearly basis, now there is quarterly survey undertaken.
KDMC officials said one of the major reasons for KDMC’s improvement is the focus on waste segregation, starting operations of three biogas plants and scientific landfilling at Umbarde in Kalyan, and appointing clean-up marshals to curb violations.
“We have improved on several aspects — the crucial one is segregation of waste. We have three waste segregation units, one in Kalyan and two in Dombivli. Although not many housing societies have taken up waste segregation, more participation is needed. We will focus on segregation and make sure more residents start implementing it,” said Gaikwad.
KDMC has also declared an exemption on 5% on property tax for a year for those housing societies which treat waste on their premises.
Mangeshi Dreams Palace at Adharwadi Chowk has started adopting green measures and are treating waste on their society premises.
“More complexes should come forward and develop a system where they have process to compost waste. They should ensure zero waste in their buildings,” said Kailas Deshpande, a resident of the building.
The civic body said it is operating its three biogas plants at Barave, Umbarde and Ayre. Each plant has a capacity of treating 10 metric tonnes of wet waste.
KDMC’s integrated solid waste management system at Umbarde scientific landfill can treat 350 metric tonnes of waste. The plant can segregate waste automatically and turn bio-degradable waste to compost.
The civic body claimed that out of the total 650 metric tonnes of waste generated in Kalyan and Dombvili, which is being dumped at the old saturated Adharwadi dumping ground, it has managed to dump 80 metric tonnes of segregated waste in Umbarde landfill till now.
“The work at Barave scientific landfill will also begin by March. Once the second scientific landfill also starts functioning, we will have the capability of treating all waste and stop dumping at Adharwadi ground. We can also start the process of closing Adharwadi dump yard,” said Gaikwad.
This year, the civic body has roped in an NGO to perform street plays to drive home the message.
The clean-up marshals —10 have been hired for each ward — educate the public about keeping the city clean. They fine ₹100 for spitting and ₹150 for dumping waste in public place. In December, marshals collected ₹3.13 lakh fine from those caught spitting in public spaces or dumping waste in the open.