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Megapolis Ministry bids adieu to garbage; councils take over
Garbage collected from Colombo and its suburbs will continue to be taken to the same sites as before even after the Megapolis and Western Development Ministry formally ends its involvement in the region’s waste management tomorrow, officials have assured the public.
Garbage collection will be fully vested back in local government bodies tomorrow.
In July, President Maithripala Sirisena gave the responsibility of managing Colombo’s garbage crisis, in the wake of the Meethotamulla disaster, to Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka. Pic by Indika Handuwala
This, though, does not mean that local authorities have to find new dump sites for garbage, said Mahinda Bandara, secretary to the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (SLLRDC) chairman and one of the officials involved in the waste management process. “The waste will continue to be taken to the waste management centres at Kerawalapitiya and Karadiyana,” he stressed, adding that local bodies have been instructed to continue to segregate garbage and limit bringing in mixed garbage to the centres.
At Kerawalapitiya, authorities have begun making compost from biodegradable garbage. The resultant fertiliser, “Mihijaya Fertilizer” is already being sold to those engaged in coconut cultivation, Mr. Bandara revealed. “The main aim is to segregate garbage as much as possible as this will allow us to make use of a lot of the garbage,” he stressed. Instructions have also been given to state institutions and private establishments to continue segregating garbage. Householders should do the same, he added.
In addition, three projects aimed at generating electricity from garbage have already been inaugurated at Kerawalapitiya and Karadiyana. These will take about two years to be completed. In July, President Maithripala Sirisena gave the responsibility of managing Colombo’s garbage crisis, in the wake of the Meethotamulla disaster, to Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka. Since then, waste management in the city and some suburbs had been carried out under his supervision and that of ministry officials and other bodies, including the Urban Development Authority (UDA) and the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (SLLRDC). In addition, the armed forces were involved in reviewing garbage collection efforts to check if they were being conducted properly.
The waste management programme that began in July covered areas coming under the Municipal Councils of Colombo, Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, Kaduwela, Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, Moratuwa, the Peliyagoda and Wattala-Mabole Urban Councils and the Kotikawatta-Mulleriyawa Pradeshiya Sabha. Waste from Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia and Moratuwa Municipalities were taken to the Karadiyana waste management centre while waste from the other areas were taken to the centre at Kerawalapitiya.
With local government polls set for February 10, the Government is working to hand back full responsibility for waste management to local government bodies in time for it to be transferred to the elected representatives to manage. Until then, the responsibility for garbage collection and management will remain with the commissioners and secretaries of local government authorities. Officials at these local authorities have already been briefed and informed in writing of the responsibilities expected of them from tomorrow, January 1.
Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) Commissioner V.K. Anura told the Sunday Times that he did not foresee any problems in garbage collection in Colombo after the responsibility is handed back to the CMC. “The Megapolis Ministry and other agencies were engaged in a review process during these past months. We did the work on the ground. We will simply continue with what we did before,” he stated. The CMC has some 3000 workers and a fleet of about 250 vehicles engaged in garbage collection, he further said.
Provincial Councils and Local Government Ministry secretary Kamal Padmasiri said he fully expects local government bodies to handle garbage collection in a proper manner.