Kerala to deploy National Service Scheme units to convert garbage dump sites into beautiful parks

Kerala's Local Self-Govt Dept. to use NSS units to turn 3,000 garbage dumps into 'Snehaaramam' parks. NSS units to receive ₹5,000 from Suchitwa Mission, local bodies to fund rest. Project to be launched on Oct 2, to be completed by Jan 1. NSS volunteers to also study material collection & composting units.

Local bodies in Kerala will use the services of National Service Scheme (NSS) units in their region to restore garbage dumping sites and vulnerable points in order to turn them into small parks with vertical gardens, installations and other amenities which will be branded as ‘Snehaaramam’. Around 3,000 garbage dump sites and vulnerable points across Kerala have been identified as part of the Malinya Muktham Nava Keralam programme.

Local bodies have also been asked to identify any remaining dumpsites and hand these over to the NSS units after cleaning up to carry out beautification works. The Suchitwa Mission will provide ₹5,000 each to the NSS units involved in the works. Expenses in excess of this will be met from the respective local body’s own funds or through sponsorships at the local level.

Some NGOs as well as groups of youngsters have in the recent past taken up what is known as ‘spot fixing’ in major Indian cities. Under such initiatives, they choose particular spots in the respective city which have remained neglected or have been turned into waste dumps, and carry out clean-up activities as well as beautification with wall art, graffiti and gardens. The Local Self-Government department’s project follows a similar model, but with a wider spread, across urban and rural centres.

The programme will be launched on October 2, on Gandhi Jayanti, and is expected to be completed by January 1 next year. The assistant secretary of the local body has to ensure periodic maintenance of the beautified spots in association with the NSS units. The NSS volunteers are also proposed to be used for carrying out studies on the functioning of material collection facilities and community composting units and submit reports to the local bodies.

Civic body representatives, NSS programme officers, unit secretaries and officials of Malinya Muktham Nava Keralam will sit together this week and chart out the modalities of their projects.