Novel initiatives help Maniyur panchayat bag Swaraj Trophy

Maniyur panchayat in Kozhikode wins Swaraj Trophy for waste management and innovative initiatives in rural Kerala.

Maniyur grama panchayat in Kozhikode district has bagged the Swaraj Trophy for the best panchayat for the financial year 2024-25.

This small panchayat in rural Kozhikode, which does not even have a town, has the biggest Material Collection Facility (MCF) in any panchayat in the State.

“Our MCF is 4,671 square feet. It is a modern facility with advanced facilities for segregation,” said T.K. Asharaf, president of the panchayat.

Maniyur’s initiatives in the waste management sector could be a model for other local bodies in the State and it extends much beyond covering all households under the Haritha Karma Sena. While most panchayats depended on private agencies to supply rings for the ring composts, the panchayat invested ₹40 lakh to set up a facility under the HKS to make their own rings and even registered the HKS as an agency so that it could place bids for rings any where in the State.

There are five door mat making units that utilise used clothes and the panchayat is planning to add five more. The panchayat also has an inoculum making unit. An LED bulb manufacturing unit is in the pipeline.

However, the achievements of Maniyur are not limited to waste management.

“We were the first in the State to offer an opportunity for building owners to regularise their unauthorised additions at a nominal cost. We had around 8,400 such buildings of which around 7,500 have been regularised,” Mr. Asharaf said, adding that it was then followed across the State as the ‘Maniyur model’.