Sanitation: GHMC draws up 100-day action plan

Civic body to form ‘basti sanitation committees’, launch campaign to eliminate garbage-vulnerable points across city.

Hyderabad: Towards improving garbage collection and disposal processes and making Hyderabad a garbage-free city, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has come up with a ‘100-day action plan’.

The need to incorporate additional measures related to sanitation emerged after 2,500 garbage-vulnerable points (GVPs) were identified recently despite the corporation introducing an integrated solid waste management system. Following this, the civic body has proposed a GVP elimination helpline number, CCTV surveillance of these vulnerable points and operationalising command control centers for GVPs. To increase people’s participation, the GHMC has decided to form ‘basti sanitation committees’ and launch the GVP elimination campaigns.

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As a part of new sanitation measures, at vulnerable points, container-based transfer stations will be deployed to avoid dumping in open and the corporation has also planned to felicitate people who come forward and join their efforts to keep the city clean. The ‘100-day action plan’ was suggested by the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) after assessing the root cause for GVPs, and gaps in infrastructure through a study that covered several residential and commercial areas. The study was commissioned by GHMC.

As a part of the action plan, the Zonal Commissioners will identify an officer on special duty (OSD) for the elimination of GVPs at the circle level, and the corporation’s resources including staff will be deployed at those places.

Improving door to collection efficiency in slums through community-based interventions, standardising the collection timing and tariff for slum and non-slum areas, improving the frequency of waste collection in commercial / street vending zones will also be taken up. “The corporation has invested in state-of-art technologies, innovative models and practices towards managing municipal solid waste (MSW), from collection to final disposal but GVPs were identified. Following this, new measures are being incorporated,” said a GHMC official.