Kerala to replicate Oman model of waste management system
Kerala is keen to learn from Oman’s best practices in waste management systems, disposal, administration and recycling of various types of wastes and to replicate the same in the state’s ever-growing issue of proper management of the same, according to V S Sunilkumar, agriculture minister of the state.
Excited over the stringent regulations on application of pesticides on agricultural crops, the minister, who was on a short visit here, said substantial attention to pesticide management in fruits and vegetables too are in pipeline which too will be inspired by the Sultanate.
“We are eager to learn Oman’s various strategies that deal with waste management and pesticide regulations prevailing in the country and replicate the same in our state’s plans towards the same”, the minister told the Observer adding that these lessons from the Sultanate will be restructured to suit the geographic, cultural and social differences of Kerala.
The minister, who was hosted by Muscat Projects and Environmental Services LLC which works closely with the government of Oman for waste management, praised the national urban planning and city landscaping of the Sultanate and added that the various missions of the state government will be highly benefited from the environmental lessons from the Sultanate.
“The attention paid by the country towards environment protection and maintenance is laudable. We will try to take the best out of these visits to a number of companies that are focused on waste management and environment protection and include in our future planning.”
“We are able to provide results of lab tests of fruit and vegetables and other edibles to be supplied across the country in less than 15 minutes which saves lot of time and effort”, said T K Vijayan, Managing Director of Global Laboratories and Testing LLC which provides the government of Oman with chemical testing of fruits and vegetables for pesticides imported in the country. EM Badruddin, Managing Director of Muscat Projects and Environmental Services LLC, was also present.
The minister said that the Nava Kerala Mission, an initiative of the present Kerala government which seeks to address problems faced in four key social sectors such health, education, agriculture and housing, with the help and involvement of local self-governments will be provided with the feedback from the study.
“The programmes which envisage a clean state by taking up various waste management programmes are also planned to implement sanitation schemes, projects for preserving water sources, agriculture development and promotion of organic farming, and expertise sharing in these areas will help improve the quality of services offered”, the minister added.