Kerala LSGD to Launch Five-Year Waste Management Campaign on October 2

The Local Self-Government department (LSGD) will launch a five-year campaign on waste management on October 2, coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti, Local Self-Government Minister K.M. Shaji has said.

Speaking on Sunday, September 20, the Minister said the initiative would bring together various government departments and agencies to tackle the State's mounting waste management challenges. Agencies under the LSGD will also hold separate awareness programmes as part of the campaign.

Mr. Shaji said the accumulation of waste was affecting the environment and water sources, and had reached a level that posed a threat to human life. Although several measures had been taken in the waste management sector, the situation remained a matter of grave concern, he said.

The Minister stressed the need for social intervention on three fronts: reducing the use of materials that generate waste, improving waste management practices, and creating the infrastructure required for waste treatment.

"We are talking about an issue that we need to consider very seriously," he said, adding that he had been concerned about the problem even before becoming a Minister and that information emerging over the past three months had strengthened that concern.

As part of the campaign, the Suchitwa Mission is organising a competition to select its name and logo. The department has invited the public to submit creative suggestions.