A&N to get 26 Solid Waste Management Clusters

To facilitate the scientific management of solid waste, the (UT) of Andaman and Nicobar Islands is in the process of developing 26 solid waste management clusters that will undertake the collection, segregation and bio-composting of all kinds of solid waste and forwarding of plastic waste for road construction.

According to Mr. Mohammed Yunus M., State Nodal Officer, SBM-G (Directorate of RD, PRIs and ULBs, A&N Administration, ), the project is still in its nascent stage of development. However, as many as 26 clusters of 70 Gram Panchayats (GPs) have been identified for initiating solid waste management (SWM) projects, the objective being to attain ODF (open defecation free) Plus status for every GP.

Location of cluster sites: Shyam Nagar (Swaraj Dweep), Neil Kendra, Beodnabad, Laxmi Nagar (Campbell Bay), Netaji Nagar and R.K.Pur (), Shore Point, Colinpur, Chouldari, Wandoor, Ferrargunj, Mannarghat, Shivapuram, Rangat, Kadamtala, Nilambur, Long Island, Bakultala, Rampur, Pahalgaon (Tugapur), Basantipur, Madhupur, Nabagram, Kishorinagar, Radhanagar, (Keralapuram).

Out of the 26 solid waste management (SWM) clusters being planned, one has been inaugurated while construction of five others has been recently completed.

Preparatory work: In terms of preparation, all the 70 GPs have identified the required numbers of garbage collection points in their respective areas for proper collection and disposal of waste. Also, a tender has been floated for all the 26 Clusters including 11 Clusters under S/, 14 Clusters in NMA and 1 cluster under Nicobar district.

Having provided 10500 sets of dustbins to households (3 per household) in 18 selected model villages, the UT administration plans to collect segregated waste from households, commercial shops and establishments as well as markets and manage it at source.

Awareness building: At the outset, IEC materials such as stickers and posters were distributed in all the 10 model villages for creation of awareness and educating the households regarding source segregation. Thereafter, various awareness programmes including Ward Sabhas were conducted in all the GPs to inform the communities about the need for source segregation.

Capacity building: Training on segregation of waste at source has been conducted for all Resorts and Hotel Owners/Staffs at Swaraj and Shaheed Dweep.

Segregation at source: Segregation of waste at source began with effect from 5th July 2019 in all Resorts, Hotels and Restaurants in Swaraj and Shaheed Dweep. Plastic waste from Swaraj and Shaheed Dweep is being shifted to port Blair by Government ferry for further transportation to mainland.

The SWM Clusters will be equipped for:

a) Bailing and shredding: Plans are in the pipeline for each of the clusters to have a bailing and shredding machine and a dry resource centre. Thereafter, the bailed plastic will be taken out of the islands by recyclers and shredded for subsequent use in road construction. b) Composting: Equipped with facilities for composting of organic waste, the SWM cluster will also generate manure that will be sold to farmers through agricultural depots, Mr. Younus informed. Forward linkages are yet to be finalised as also battery-operated vehicles to collect waste for every Gram Panchayat.

User fees: A direction had been issued to all Gram Panchayats about collection of User fees from all resorts at the rate of Rs.10/- per bed. However, on their request, a uniform rate is now being charged in consultation with the hoteliers based on the number of beds/tables in their resorts/hotels. The agreed rates are:

• Resorts: upto 10 beds – Rs.3000/- per month, 11 to 30 beds – Rs.6000/- per month, 31 to 50 beds – Rs.9000/- per months, 51 beds and above – Rs.15,000/- per month. • Restaurants: upto 10 tables – Rs.3000/- per month, 11 tables and above – Rs.15000/- per month • Bar – Rs.5000/- per month.