Kuppam Moving Towards Becoming Net Zero Waste Constituency

In acknowledgment of the progress made in this direction, the Kuppam civic body received Swachh Municipality Award 2025 in the category of municipalities with a population below 50,000, while KADA bagged the Swachh Government Office Award. Chief Minister Naidu presented these awards on October 6 as part of the Swarna Andhra–Swachh Andhra initiative.

KADA project director Vikas Marmat described the awards as important milestones in Kuppam’s efforts to build a cleaner and more sustainable community. “KADA, with IIT Kanpur as its knowledge partner, is conducting detailed studies with the Sustainability Equity and Diversity Fund and other partners to design practical and replicable models for its transition,” he said.

As part of the Net Zero Energy plan, the constituency is shifting from conventional power sources to renewable energy. The Nadimuru Model Solar Village has been equipped with a 190 kWp solar system, while a 4.36 MWp rooftop solar project is under implementation to supply power to 7,489 SC and ST households. At the feeder level, a 141 MWp solar system is being developed to supply power to 32,106 agricultural pump sets.

“To promote sustainable mobility and inclusion, 400 e-cycles have been distributed to women and 48 e-autos deployed for door-to-door waste collection. A 14-cubic-metre CNG compactor has replaced diesel tractors for secondary waste transport to reduce emissions,” Vikas explained.

Under the Net Zero Waste initiative, around 20,000 metric tonnes of legacy waste has been processed, preventing nearly 13,850 tonnes of carbon emissions. “The municipality has banned single-use plastics and is adopting best waste disposal practices in public areas. KADA has signed a 15-year MoU with the Academy of Gandhian Studies – ITC to implement the Wellbeing out of Waste (WoW) initiative, which includes dry waste management, behavioural change campaigns, inter-school recycling contests, wall art competitions, and household segregation drives,” the KADA project director said.

Composting of wet waste is being taken up at existing processing centres and gram panchayats, while proposals are underway for an Integrated Solid Waste Management Facility with a Material Recovery Facility and a compressed biogas plant. Infrastructure projects, such as the LPG crematorium, Sports Complex and Central Park are also being developed in line with Net Zero principles. “All future buildings in the constituency will be designed, operated and maintained with sustainability as the core principle”, Vikas emphasised.