The project seeks to strengthen the institutional and service delivery systems for Solid Waste Management by:
(i) Improving the policy and regulatory framework at state and ULB level;
(ii) Improving the institutional and financial systems at ULB level;
(iii) Developing climate-smart and disaster-resilient infrastructure and service delivery systems for integrated SWM; and
(iv) Improving environmental, social, and health conditions.
As part of strengthening the institutional and service delivery systems for solid waste management in Kerala, the project envisages three components including Institutional development, capacity building, and project management; Grant support to ULBs for SWM and Development of regional SWM facilities.
The project has three components.
Component 1
- To increase the efficiency of various institutions / agencies working in the field of waste management and provide them with technical assistance.
Component 2
- Distribution of special grants to municipalities for strengthening decentralized waste management and proper disposal of inorganic waste. Waste disposal, waste collection, arrangement of vehicles for waste collection, Covid-19 relief operations, cleaning of public streets, provision of sanitary equipment to cleaners, viability gap fund for Harithakarma Sena members, rehabilitation of existing waste treatment plants, renovation of material collection centre and resource recovery facility.
Component 3
- Construction of centralized solid waste treatment plants on regional basis.
Like many other countries, provision of SWM services in Kerala is the ULB’s responsibility. Projects across the globe have proved the need for local governments to adopt an integrated service delivery approach for improving SWM (collection, transportation, recycling/processing and safe disposal). It has been widely accepted that broken value chain systems are a major reason behind waste leakages, leading to numerous environmental and public health hazards, and eventually negatively impacting the livability and competitiveness of cities in the long run.
Global experience in the sector also emphasizes on the importance of enabling policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks and financial sustainability mechanisms for an integrated and efficient SWM system. Therefore, the project has adopted an integrated approach to support state government and ULBs in addressing all the above-mentioned aspects of the service delivery system in a coordinated and planned manner. This includes combining investments with policy/institutional changes at state and city levels to facilitate the integration amongst the key players. At the city level, policy changes, institutional reforms and critical investments for SWM are linked through incentive grants to stimulate institutional change.
Project Implementation in the state
The project will facilitate the streamlining and strengthening of the existing systems based on the new solid waste management rule, 2016, the Integrated Solid Waste management strategy, 2018, and the Kerala Municipality Act amendments. Besides, the project will initiate locally specific solid waste management approaches based on the standards proposed by various rules, and guidelines.
Haritha Kerala Mission and Kudumbasree Mission will remain involved in the project as one of the stakeholders. Haritha Kerala Mission, Kudumbashree Mission and others may be used as supporting agencies as deemed necessary by the SPMU (State Level Project Management Unit) to work in conjunction with DPMUs District Level Project Management Units) and PIUs (Project Implementation Units).
The Project will be implemented under a three-tiered implementation framework – a State Level Project Management Unit (SPMU), District Level Project Management Units (DPMUs) in all districts and Project Implementation Units (PIUs) in the ULBs. The SPMU is assisted by a State-level Project Management Consultant (SPMC) with its District-level Project Management Consultant (DPMC) teams. District level Technical Support Consultants (TSC) hired by SPMUs will provide technical support to ULBs in that district. The ULBs join the Project by signing a Participation Agreement (PA) and will receive grants based on them. The existing institutions in the SWM sector such as Clean Kerala Company Ltd. (CKCL), Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA), District Haritha Kerala Mission, Kudumbashree Mission etc act as supporting partners of the project.
Component A: Development of Regional SWM Facilities. This component will comprise the development of prioritized regional waste processing and disposal facilities, including, but not limited to: (i) closure and remediation of polluted waste dumpsites; (ii) construction of regional sanitary landfills; and (iii) provision of facilities related to composting, resource recovery, and transfer stations.
Component B: Improvement of SWM Infrastructure in Participating ULBs. This component will include improvements in local-level SWM service delivery systems of the participating ULBs focusing mainly on: (i) primary waste collection and transportation; (ii) source segregation and treatment at decentralized level; (iii) rehabilitation and/or development of resource recovery facilities; (iv) development of biodegradable waste management facilities; and (v) development of disposal cells as interim disposal facilities.
Component C: Institutional Development, Capacity Building and Project Management Support. This component covers technical assistance and capacity building at state and local levels for: (i) undertaking SWM institutional, financial, and policy reforms; (ii) planning, designing, and implementing investment sub-projects for climate-smart and disaster resilient SWM infrastructure and service provision improvements; (iii) organizational development of participating ULBs for inclusive and sustainable SWM service delivery; and (iv) Increasing awareness of waste management, sanitization and public hygiene, gender inclusion and stakeholder engagement.
