Preserving the “Heritage” of the ‘Heritage City’ Mysuru- Solutions for Proper waste Management.

‘In this universe, there is no such thing as waste because everything has the potential to be valuable’.

These are the paraphrased words of ‘Karnataka Rajyostava’ Recipient, Former MLC Shri MadeGowda. D, who is the founder of the “Zero Waste Management Plant” (ZWM Plant) situated in the 35^th Ward of Kumbarkoppal, Mysuru. It is the most Effectively working ‘Solid waste Management plant’ in the city which has garnered both national and international recognitions.

My friend Nisarga N L and I had an opportunity to visit the’ ZWM Plant’ in the city and Interview the Honorable Former MLC, as part of our Research project under the guidance of our mentor Dr. T S Harsha (Phd, Chairman, DSRES, KSOU).

The ‘ZWM Plant’ has a very fascinating History. It is the brainchild of Shri. Madegowda, who started it under the ‘Nirmal Nagar’ initiative of Govt. of Karnataka in 2004. The initiative was further boosted by the introduction of ‘Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission’ (JNNURM) by the Union Govt in 2005.

According to the information provided by the Supervisors of the ‘ZWM Plant’ (Shri. Arun Kumar M., who has been serving here since the initiation of the plant, and shri.Basavaraju), two "Paurakarmikas" (or "NagarBandhus,"- as considered by the Honourable MLC) were initially appointed to undertake door to door waste collection and segregate it in this ‘ZWM’ plant. The plant was initially established in a ‘graveyard ‘without much infrastructure.

An amount of Rs 10 per month was collected from each house for the salary and management of the site. In 2007, tenders were given for the construction of Infrastructure in the ‘ZWM Plant’. It was taken up by an organization “Federation of Mysore City Corporation Ward Parliament” which was founded by Shri. MadeGowda . This federation has an innovative objective. It is conceptualized on the basis of how the Parliament of India works, but at the ward level. Every Fortnightly meeting of this Federation would comprise of officials from various departments, and representatives of the wards who would discuss the problems prevailing in that ward and come up with solutions. This can be considered as one effective example of ‘Decentralization of Power’ – A key aspect of ‘Indian Federalism’.

In recognition to its work in waste management, “Federation of Mysore City Corporation Ward Parliament” was conferred with ‘Swacchata Hi Seva’ national award in 2017.

The Federation set up the infrastructure required for the proper segregation of wastes and finally the ‘ ZWM plant’ in its present status kickstarted in 2010. Currently, the ‘ZWM Plant’ has the capacity of 5 tonnes per day. It collects and Segregates around 95% of the wastes from its jurisdiction of 7 wards, barring the Biomedical wastes (syringes, needles etc) and other hazardous domestic wastes (sanitary napkins, diaper etc ).

The wastes are Largely seggregated into ‘Dry’ and ‘Wet’ wastes. Further ‘dry wastes’ are separately sorted into 26 categories like waste bottles, milk cover, e- wastes and so on. While, ‘wet waste’ is subjected to ‘Aerobic Composting’, which is then converted to Manures and given off to Farmers for free. This can be considered an efficient way to promote ‘Organic Manures’ in Farming.

The ‘Zero Waste Management plant’ is a feasible solution towards proper waste management, prevent spread of diseases- especially Communicable diseases, bringing Psychological Wellbeing among the residents of the city, turn ‘Waste into wealth’, and last but not the least getting back the Crown of ‘Swacch Nagar’ to Mysuru in the ‘Swacch Sarvekshan’ that has slipped its rank to 27th this year.

As we discussed the ways to enhance Mysuru's waste management and to preserve the “Heritage, Health, and Hygiene" of the city, we got a number of suggestions from the above-mentioned sources.

First, “History Provides Valuable lessons”. So, taking inspiration from the Wodeyar ruler His highness “Krishna Raja Wodeyar-IV” whose reign is termed as the “Golden era of Mysuru“is needed! He was Responsible for the establishment of the ‘Nagarabhivriddhi Vishwastha Mandali’ (City improvement trust board) in 1903- A Democratic platform that focused on urban planning, public health and sanitation. He also promoted Green Parks in Mysuru to abide by the concept of “Clean Space and Clean Air”.

Second, more political will, more efficient bureaucracy, public participation majorly in the form of segregation at source level, and an end to corruption are necessary.

Third, Decentralization of garbage collection and ward-level segregation to reduce logistical expenses associated with transporting waste to distant plants.

Fourth, All the “Hills of Landfills” should be cleared. These should not be allowed in the "heritage city of Mysuru," which is famously known for the "Goddess Chamundi Hill”.

It is estimated that roughly 90 tonnes of garbage are diverted to the landfills every day. These landfills are a source of hazardous "methane gas"-a possible greenhouse gas, due to solid waste leaching. Technologies for by product recovery (Methane gas recovery and storage) needs to be adopted.

Fifth, As Suggested by our Mentor, there is need for solution to “NIMBY Syndrome”. i.e., “Not in My Backyard” syndrome among publics. It is a psychological mindset where people oppose the developmental activities like Waste management plants in their vicinity.

Additionally, the practice of discarding uncollected wastes from home and piling it in faraway places persists. Because of this illegal dumping, a "Garbage Blackspot" is created. This needs to be stopped. The best way forward is ‘Source level segregation’ of wastes at homes, and monitoring of blackspots to avoid illegal dumping.

Sixth, as suggested by the Supervisors of the "ZWM plant," the plant's jurisdiction needs to be expanded to include more wards. The staff salaries and incentives at the ZWM plant, which are currently very low, needs to be revised in order to maintain the employee’s motivation to work.

Additionally, the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) should assist in bringing "advanced machineries" like ‘Refuse Derived Fuel Technology’(RDF) to these plants. These technologies increase recovery rate from wastes and also can minimize the wastes by 70%.

‘Mysuru’ is well known as the “Heritage City” of the Nation. Maintaining this status not just in the ranking of “Swacch Sarvekshan”, but also in spirit and Reality is the need of the hour. The solution is the change in ‘Attitude’, and in turn change in the ‘Behavior’ of “WE MYSUREANS”. Thus, realizing Mahatma Gandhiji’s dream of ‘’Swacch Bharat”.

Yours, trying to be Eco Conscious........