Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) officials will begin collecting user charges for the collection of garbage from every household in Vizag from this month onwards. This decision has been taken as part of the Clean Andhra Prades (CLAP) programme started in the state. Visakhapatnam is one of the cities, selected out of 45 cities in total for this project in AP. Under this project, a monthly user charge of Rs 120 will be collected from households for garbage collection, i.e Rs 4 per day, while Rs 2-3 per day will be charged in smaller cities.
According to the health officials of GVMC, a total of 58 model wards in the city are listed for charging for garbage collection. “The resolution had been passed in the council for this project. In Vizag, we will be collecting in 58 model wards and will assess the difficulties and errors so that user charges can be implemented accordingly in other wards. Each Ward Sachivalayam will have a sanitation secretary who will collect the user charges,” said GVMC Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. KSLG Sastry, speaking to Yo! Vizag.
According to the civic body, the concept is to maintain the money, collected as user charges, for the expenses of garbage segregation. This will also make the households take the responsibility of handing over the garbage to the sanitation staff when they come to collect it, instead of throwing it in the local bins. “In another one month, we will provide autos, instead of the present vehicles, for all 570 Ward Sachivalayams for garbage collection. With around 1200-1400 households in each Sachivalayam, the garbage autos will go to each house. Our aim is to make Vizag a no-garbage city, with all the colonies and roads free of any waste,” said CMO Sastry.
As part of the project, GVMC has been conducting awareness campaigns in the city on the segregation of dry and wet waste in two dustbins. Some of the households, and commercial shops, have been distributed dustbins. This is part of the Swachh Bharat Mission to educate households on segregation of waste properly so as to avoid any waste thrown on the roads or drains.
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