Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj K.S. Eshwarappa said on Sunday that the State Government will open 50 more material recovery facilities this year to segregate dry waste generated in rural areas in the State.
Addressing a gathering at a function after inaugurating a material recovery facility at Nitte in Karkala taluk of Udupi district, the Minister said that such facilities will also provide employment to local people and help in maintaining cleanliness in rural areas.
Mr. Eshwarappa said that all chief executive officers of zilla panchayats in the State will have to visit the newly opened facility at Nitte and set up such units in rural areas of their districts.
He said that the model of the unit at Nitte will be showcased at a conference of rural development Ministers of all States at Delhi and efforts will be made to get funds from the Union Government to set up such units in the State.
The Mminister said that the State Government will accord permission for establishing a unit to scientifically process thermocol waste in Udupi district. The unit might cost ₹50 lakh. The State Government will also sanction ₹2 crore for constructing a new building of the taluk panchayat in Hebri. More funds will be released for developing rural roads, he said.
Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shobha Karandlaje said that the Union Government recently released ₹180 crore for developing the road between Karkala and Mala as a four-lane road. She said that the Union Government has been laying stress on scientific segregation of all types of waste and construction of toilets for maintaining cleanliness both in rural and urban areas.
Minister for Energy, Kannada and Culture and Karkala MLA V. Sunil Kumar said that management of faecal waste and other liquid waste produced in Karkala taluk has emerged as a challenge and plans are under way to make the best use of it for alternative purposes.
Chairman of Karnataka Coastal Development Authority Mattar Ratnakar Hegde, Udupi Deputy Commissioner M. Kurma Rao and Udupi Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Y. Naveen Bhat were present.
