THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy sought the full cooperation of three-tier local bodies to the State Government’s drive in decentralised waste management. Reiterating that disposal of waste is the grave issue confronting the state, the Chief Minister, who was presiding over the State Development Council Meet, said that measures to install modern waste treatment plants with latest technology in the corporations of Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode were on a final stage.The government has decided to observe May 17 as state Sanitation Day, Chandy said.With the objective to maintain cleanliness and prevent monsoon season diseases, Suchitwa Mission will allot Rs 10,000 per ward. The amount is an addition to the NRHM outlay of Rs 25,000 per ward. The Chief Minister said that local bodies were also free to spend its own funds on this score.The Chief Minister said that grama panchayats, which did not have a common burial ground, should ensure that it would be realised in a year and the government would allot necessary funds for purchasing land for the purpose. The local bodies can use its own funds and also MLA and MP funds for it, he added.The Chief Minister insisted that local bodies should also see to it that plan funds were utilised effectively from the beginning of a fiscal, instead of the current practice of rushing with schemes in the last quarter of a financial year. A monitoring cell of department secretaries, headed by the state Planning Board Vice Chairman for SC/ST development funds and the government is also toying with the idea of giving more powers to local bodies in the utilisation of funds for Centrally-sponsored schemes.Addressing the meet, Urban Affairs Minister Manjalamkuzhi Ali said that the scope of collection of wastes every night in the city corporation limits is being looked into. Involving Agriculture Department and ANERT in the exercise is also being planned, he said.Rural Development Minister K C Joseph pointed out that the government had already decided to adopt a five-year plan mode for the local bodies in lieu of the annual plan, so as to give more operational freedom.Panchayat Minister M K Muneer said that local bodies should pay more attention for the betterment of rural roads, social auditing, e-governance measures and installation of modern abattoirs.Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash said that local bodies should be keen to protect its properties from encroachment and also sought co-operation for the ambitious zero-landless scheme of the government, intended to ensure that no family in the state remained landless by 2015.Ministers Aryadan Mohammed, P K Kunhalikutty, V S Sivakumar and K B Ganesh Kumar, state Planning Board Vice Chairman K M Chandrasekhar, Chief Secretary K Jayakumar, three-tier local bodies’ representatives and department heads attended the meet.
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