Corporation likely to get $1,00,000 U.N. grant

Corporation likely to get $1,00,000 U.N. grant

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, April 28: The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) has come forward to grant U.S. $1,00,000 to the Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) under its Water and Sanitation Programme, according to Commissioner of the corporation K.N. Vijayaprakash.

Mr. Vijayaprakash told The Hindu that UN-HABITAT is a United Nations agency. The civic body would be utilising the grant mainly for setting up community-based bio-gas plants and decentralised mini-waste-water treatment plants in select wards, conducting public awareness programmes on solid waste management and encouraging self-help groups (SHGs) to take up door-to-door collection of solid waste.

Agreement

Mr. Vijayaprakash said that UN-HABITAT, headquartered in Nairobi in Kenya, had sent their agreement letter to the civic body for sanctioning the grant for a period of two years. The council of the corporation had given its approval for taking up the projects. A proposal had been sent to the State Government for approval.

MCC’s share

The corporation would have to contribute a matching amount as its share to get this UN-HABITAT grant. The civic body could contribute its share either in cash or kind (such as making land available for these projects). Implementation of the projects was subject to the Government’s approval, he said.

The Commissioner said that when bio-gas plants were set up in the identified wards, the quantity of solid waste generated in those areas would come down. Solid waste produced there could even be disposed of in the respective wards. In addition, bio-gas plants could produce energy, which should be properly utilised. All the areas in the jurisdiction of the MCC were not connected to underground sewage lines. It was planned to set up mini-waste-water treatment plants in select wards by pooling waste-water produced in houses at one place.

The grant would also be utilised for creating public awareness about the need to segregate solid waste as degradable and non-degradable at source and hand them over to door-to-door collectors, he said.

Thehindu