The government has extended the viability gap funding earmarked by local bodies to the Haritha Karma Sena members engaged in collection of non-biodegradable waste by another six months in view of the COVID-19 situation.
The Department of Local Self-Government had permitted the civic bodies to use the viability gap fund from the annual plan fund to sustain the activities of the Haritha Karma Sena.
For wages
The fund is used by local bodies whenever they are unable to meet the wages for the green volunteers from the user fee collected from the waste generators. A municipality can earmark ₹46,350 per ward as viability gap fund for six months while the corresponding figure for grama panchayats is ₹23,175.
The latest order to extend the funding by another six months will help local bodies that are actively involved in collection and disposal of non- biodegradable waste from households and establishments utilising the services of the Haritha Karma Sena members. The earlier government order permitting the use of the fund had expired recently.
According to the LSG Department order issued on April 11, the civic bodies can submit projects seeking relaxation of norms for undertaking emergency initiatives during this crisis period. These include procuring gum boots, masks and gloves for sanitation workers in various civic bodies.
Officials of the department pointed out that the nominal user fee collected from the waste generators was not sufficient for meeting the wages of the members of the Haritha Karma Sena. Most of the local bodies had used the government assistance for ensuring the sustainability of such projects. The local bodies had fixed user fee varying from ₹30 to ₹50 from each household for collection of non-biodegradable waste.
