KOCHI: The Kochi Corporation has initiated steps to implement the City Sanitation plan with the support of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).
A recent meeting of the city corporation and the German agency has decided to immediately take up construction of decentralized sewage treatment plants at Edakochi south, Edakochi north and Perumpadappu.
GIZ earlier conducted a detailed assessment of the 74 divisions within city limits in line with National Urban Sanitation Policy (NUSP) directives. Major sanitary issues have been pointed out.
Based on the findings, a City Sanitation Plan was prepared to not only address current issues but also future sanitary requirements of the city through a participatory approach.
It is based on this assessment report that GIZ offered technical assistance to the corporation in setting up a decentralised sewage plant.
“According to GIZ experts, decentralised small treatment plants are best suited for the city. For the last couple of years, GIZ has been supporting the civic body by providing technical support and capacity building training to improve the sanitation conditions of urban areas,” said a top civic official.
Once the project proposal is submitted, the civic body will identify an agency through tendering to implement it at the earliest. Though no financial support has been offered by GIZ, its officials have agreed to explore the possibility of identifying funding sources like KFW, the German bank, which has promised a loan of Rs. 680 crore for water transport development projects.
During the sanitation ranking exercise carried out in 2011 for 423 cities under the mandate of NUSP, Kochi has been ranked at the 81st position.
The city could secure an overall sanitation score of 41.07 out of 100 which indicates the need for considerable improvement in the sanitary condition.
Some of the issues identified are inadequate septage management, dumping solid waste in canals and drains, limited sewerage coverage, disparity in water supply and open defecation in low-income pockets.
