Kerala has no dearth of funds for effective waste management projects

Even whenwaste managementin various places across the state is turning out to be a serious Health and environmental hazard, records show that there is no dearth of funds available for setting up effective Waste Management projects. Crores of rupees are left unused due to the government’s inability in implementing projects.

Documents of a meeting chaired by chief secretary V P Joy last month, accessed by TOI, show that there is a huge gap in fund availability and utilization. There is at least Rs 600 to Rs 700 crore lying unutilized under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation andUrban Transformation(AMRUT) scheme alone.

The AMRUT fund to the tune of Rs 600 crore to Rs 700 crore said to be unutilized for the current year stands as testimony to the low profile of functioning of the LSGIs as far as waste management is concerned,” said the minutes of the review meeting. As per records, there are 19 projects proposed under theAMRUT schemealone, of which 12 have not even started.