Thiruvananthapuram: Moving forward, individuals who improperly manage garbage or are found to be in violation of waste management regulations will be required to attend educational sessions organized by local government entities in Kerala.

Special coaching includes waste processing methods, rules related to garbage collection, and the duties of the citizens in waste management. People will also be educated on fines if they are found violating the rules again. The training classes tend to raise awareness of the campaign “My garbage, my responsibility.” The local self-government secretaries who fail to initiate disciplinary actions against the garbage offenders will also be punished. The authorities were also asked to report the actions taken against the violators on a daily basis via the Jagratha portal.

Vigilance squad

The grama panchayats and municipal corporations will form vigilance squads to identify and initiate action against houses and institutions without scientific waste management systems. One such quad will function in every panchayat. Similarly, two squads will be formed in every municipality, and one squad each for 25 divisions in corporations.

A health officer or any other officer appointed by the local self-government institution will be the convenor of the squad. A representative of the particular institution, the Kudumbashree Green Ambassador, NSS, NCC volunteers, other volunteers, and field-level health workers will be the members of the vigilance squad.

The squads will be conducting inspections once every three days. It will verify the serious cases identified at the ward level. The performances of the vigilance squads will be evaluated by the district enforcement team. Several volunteer groups have also been given the responsibility of ensuring safe waste disposal practices in their localities.

Target areas of the squad

  • Flats, institutions, apartments, shops, and offices without proper waste management systems.
  • Dumping of waste on roads and in water bodies.
  • Those who do not adhere to the ‘green rules’ while conducting public programmes
  • Those who produce and use banned plastic