Swachh Andhra Corporation Chairman K. Pattabhi Ram said that to strengthen the solid waste management in the city, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) will be provided 95 electric vehicles in the next two to three months for door-to-door garbage collection. This will not only improve garbage collection, but will also improve the air quality, he added.

Mr. Pattabhi Ram inspected the bio-mining and also the waste-to-energy plant at Kapuluppada along with GVMC Commissioner Ketan Garg, here on Saturday. Later, addressing the media, Mr. Pattabhi Ram said that the State government is also in process of procuring compactors and they will be provided to the city based on the needs of GVMC.

He stated that the bio-mining operations at the Kapuluppada dumping yard are being efficiently carried out. “As per the Swachh Andhra Corporation’s decision, 2.01 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste are to be bio-mined across 5 acres by July 11. As of now, around 1.63 lakh metric tonnes, which is about 80 per cent have been processed so far,” he said.

He stated that the reclaimed land, once cleared of legacy waste, will be developed into a green space and further as a tourism spot by the GVMC as a pilot project.

He said that the ultimate goal of the State government, under the leadership of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, is to make Andhra Pradesh a ‘dump-yard free’ State. He said that the government’s aim is to ensure waste generated on a daily basis is processed the same day. He also said that steps will be taken to generate the power capacity from the current 15 MW to 20 MW in the waste-to-energy plant. He noted that the 1,200 metric tonnes of waste generated daily in Visakhapatnam is being effectively converted to electricity.

Five awards

During the media interaction, Mr. Pattabhi Ram also announced that Andhra Pradesh has secured five national-level awards in the ‘Swachh Survekshan 2024’. He said that GVMC received a special category ministerial award, while Rajahmundry Municipal Corporation (RMC) won a State-level ministerial award. He also stated that Vijayawada, Guntur, and Tirupati received Super Swachh league awards.

He said that A.P. is emerging as a model State for cleanliness through the Swachh Andhra movement. He highlighted that the State-wide ‘Swarnandhra–Swachhandhra’ initiatives are held on the third Saturday of every month, aligning with the vision of the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ launched by the Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, GVMC Commissioner Ketan Garg expressed delight over the awards received by Visakhapatnam and Rajahmundry, emphasising that public participation will be the key to achieving top national ranks. He reaffirmed the commitment to developing Visakhapatnam as a clean and beautiful city.

He said that three phases of bio-mining at the Kapuluppada yard have been completed. Currently, door-to-door waste collection has reached 80 to 90 per cent coverage, and steps are being taken to achieve 10 per cent, GVMC Commissioner added.