Having constructed a Solid Waste Processing Centre (SWPC) and organised systems for the collection and segregation of solid waste, composting, and greywater management, Nandigam Gram Panchayat situated in Bhogapuram Mandal of Vizianagaram District in Andhra Pradesh is a Swachh and ODF Plus Model Panchayat.
Situated on the banks of River Champavati, the agricultural village has a population of 1468 individuals from 431 families. While agriculture and animal husbandry are the main occupations, the commercial crops grown there are Maize, Casuarina, and Eucalyptus.
Solid waste Processing Centre: When the Manam–Mana Parishubrata campaign began in the state in June 2020, Nandigram was selected for Phase I of the programme, and an SWPC was constructed there. Thereafter, the district administration distributed two garbage bins to every household for segregation of wet and dry waste at source. However, to meet the crying need for awareness on waste management, various IEC activities were conducted.
Daily garbage collection: Under the CLAP (Clean Andhra Pradesh) programme, wet, dry and hazardous waste was collected separately from households every day, and transported to the waste to wealth creation centres where vermicompost was prepared and the organic manure generated was provided to the farmers at a nominal cost. Nandigam GP has appointed one Clap Mitra for every 250 houses and two CLAP Mitras visit 432 houses in the village every day to collect wet and dry garbage separately and transport it to the wealth centre.
Handling of wet and dry waste: Beginning at 6 AM every day, CLAP Mitras take around 3 hours to collect the garbage from houses and to transfer the same garbage to the SWPC centre. While the wet garbage is kept in NADEP pits outside for 45 days, the dry waste is further segregated into bottles, plastic containers, packaging items, metal and glass, and these are packed and kept aside to sell to recyclers.
Hazardous and medical waste: The sanitary napkins from households and medical waste such as needles, syringes, and broken glass from medical camps are collected separately, transferred to the SWPC shed, and incinerated under the supervision of volunteers and medical staff (ASHA and ANM).
Compost preparation and sale: Wet/biodegradable waste that is collected is transferred into NADEP pits which were set up outside the SWPC shed and sealed immediately to prevent bad odour and flies. Once the NADEP pits are completely filled with wet waste, seeds of small green leafy plants are spread on top. After a gap of 45 days, it is transferred to vermicompost pits inside the SWPC shed. Earthworms are used in the process to produce rich manure that can be used in kitchen gardens and agricultural fields. About 20,000 kgs of vermicompost have been manufactured until now which is valued at Rs.1,60,000. Vermicompost is supplied to village farmers, Rythu Bharosa Kendra, DWMA, and Horticulture Departments.
Liquid Waste Management: Connecting all houses, Concrete Canvas (CC) drains with covered slaps measuring 2300 metres were constructed in the GP and liquid waste that flows through the drains is channelled into 2 large community soak pits constructed at the edge of the village. Even as plans have been made to construct an additional two soak pits, the existing ones are regularly de-silted, bleached, and sprayed with phenyl and malathion.
Plastic-free village: As a part of the Single Use Plastic (SUP) free campaign, the village sarpanch has distributed free, reusable jute bags to every household, persuading them to curb the use of plastics.
Manam Mana Parisubratha: As part of the Manam Mana Parisubratha programme, all government officials and representatives including the Panchayat Extension Officer, Sarpanch, Panchayat Secretary, VRO, VRA, Field Assistant and Mahila Sangha members were involved in creating awareness among the people. This included the use of pamphlets, wall paintings, slogans, banners, rallies, and awareness programmes using artists. Further, four overhead tanks were installed in the GP which are cleaned every fortnight while an RO plant supplies free drinking water to the community. Moreover, as many as 2000 saplings were planted across the village to enhance greenery and improve the air and 15 cement benches were erected in public spaces. CC roads measuring 9000 metres were constructed, connecting every house and street, and these all-weather roads are systematically cleaned every day by the CLAP Mitras.
Inputs: Ms. Rohini, Dy Commissioner, Sanitation (PR dept) in the O/o Commissioner, PR&RD, Andhra Pradesh
Swachh Bharat (Grameen) 