Haritha Mithram 2.0 application for waste collection promises better monitoring and online payment facilities
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
Spotlight on DMK as Opposition meets to discuss VP polls
After BJP-led NDA government's announcement of Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan , a BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, as its vice-presidential candidate, the spotlight is on DMK and its regional allies in Tamil Nadu as the Opposition INDIA bloc floor leaders are set to meet on Monday to discuss their strategy for the September 9 polls. In the past presidential and vice-presidential elections, regional sentiments had triggered cross-alliance/party voting. Independence Day 2025 Modi signals new push for tech independence with local chips Before Trump, British used tariffs to kill Indian textile Bank of Azad Hind: When Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose gave India its own currency With Radhakrishnan also belonging to the politically significant OBC community and given that Tamil Nadu is headed for assembly polls next year, Opposition circles are abuzz whether DMK and its regional allies, a key component of the INDIA bloc, can withstand the imminent push to add "Tamil pride" to Radhakrishnan's candidature. The rival AIADMK and BJP are expected to play to the gallery about the prospect of a fellow Tamilian holding India's second-highest post. "The Opposition leaders are likely to discuss on Monday the strategy for the vice-presidential election. DMK and its regional allies' readiness to fight against Radhakrishnan will decide whether we will have a candidate or will it be a unanimous vice-presidential election," said a senior INDIA bloc leader. Presidential and vice-presidential elections have earlier witnessed cross-alliance and cross-party voting on regional lines. Congress presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee forced both the Marxists and Trinamool Congress to back him amid excitement about the first Bengali becoming the president. Similarly, UPA fielding Pratibha Devisingh Patil for the top post made Shiv Sena to support her due to their shared Maharashtra roots. When Indira Gandhi named Zail Singh as Congress presidential candidate, arch-rival Akali Dal backed him, saying he would be the first Sikh to be the president. Vajpayee-led NDA's presidential candidate APJ Abdul Kalam received support from both SP and Congress due to their competitive enthusiasm for a Muslim as president. The fact that party whips don't apply in these elections make it more 'flexible', resulting in many Opposition parties suffering "cross-voting".
The Hindu
11 hours ago
- The Hindu
Haritha Mithram 2.0 application for waste collection promises better monitoring and online payment facilities
The Local self government department has readied Haritha Mithram 2.0, the improved version of the mobile application for doorstep collection of waste, with online payment facilities, better monitoring of doorstep waste collection, Malayalam language support and integration with the KSMART system. The pilot run of the new application is ongoing in 30 local bodies. The implementation of the online payment system is expected to bring transparency in user fee collection. The Haritha Karma Sena (HKS) members deployed for waste collection will also have a more user-friendly interface to deal with in the new application. The department organised a training programme for HKS members to familiarise them with the upgraded application. Along with Malayalam, work is ongoing to add more languages including Tamil and Kannada to the application. The department is now mapping all buildings in the State through KSMART to the Haritha Mithram application to ensure complete waste collection coverage. The application provides an option for common collection facilities for flat complexes and industrial establishments. In such cases, a common bill will be generated for the entire complex. Another new option is the availability of on demand services, which would allow the public to get services outside the regular calendar of the HKS. Currently, the various kinds of waste including cloth and glass are collected only in specific months. Through the new application, people can demand collection of specific kinds of waste on payment of a fixed fee. This particular feature will be implemented only as per the decisions of the respective local body and HKS unit in each area. In the next update of the application, the residents will get notification on the upcoming waste collection date and time, as well as contact information of the HKS worker who will collect the waste. Since the new application and data in it are completely cloud-based, some of the technical issues associated with the previous version are expected to be addressed. The Haritha Mithram 2.0 application will be formally launched in Thiruvananthapuram on August 20.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Hindustan Times
SC slams NHAI over toll collection and poor roads
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday pulled up the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for collecting toll from commuters despite unfinished roadworks and chronic traffic snarls, asking why citizens should be made to pay for poor infrastructure. The Supreme Court building in New Delhi. (HT Photo) 'Roads are in such bad condition…You are collecting toll but where are the roads? How do you start collecting tolls even without completing the roads?' a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran remarked, while hearing NHAI's appeal against an August 6 Kerala high court order suspending toll collection at the Paliyekkara toll plaza for four weeks. The high court had castigated NHAI for 'total apathy' in addressing public grievances over persistent congestion along the Mannuthy-Edappally stretch of National Highway 544, and held that the authority could not demand user fees while breaching the 'tie of public trust' that governs its relationship with road users. At the outset in the Supreme Court, solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for NHAI, pointed out that the highway concessionaire had also filed an appeal, which was due to be heard next week. He suggested that both matters be taken up together. But the bench immediately turned to the state of the roads, noting that they were in 'such a bad condition everywhere' that the very basis for collecting toll was questionable. Mehta sought to distance NHAI from direct toll collection, saying that the operation and management were the concessionaire's responsibility. Counsel for the concessionaire added that five 'black spots' identified by the authorities were outside the scope of the concessionaire's work, and that the high court itself had recorded compliance with all contractual norms. The bench was unconvinced. 'You should have planned for intersections and other measures before starting to collect tolls…You start collecting tolls even before the roads are ready,' it remarked. Mehta responded that work was underway to address the black spots, with underpasses and overbridges being constructed. The bench, however, pointed out that there were bottlenecks on the stretch identified in the high court's order, and even ambulances could not pass. 'In any case, the high court has stopped toll collection for four weeks. Resolve this. You are wasting time filing appeals,' the court said. The CJI also noted his own recent experience travelling on the highway, saying there were bottlenecks along the route. Mehta attributed some of the congestion to service road blockages caused by ongoing construction to fix the black spots, and requested the matter be listed the following week so he could present maps and photographs. The bench was critical of NHAI's delay in responding to the high court's concerns. 'The court has been after you since February, but you did not respond. That is how this order came to be passed,' it said, referring to reports in Malayalam newspapers about a man who left at 6am to attend his father-in-law's funeral but could not travel the next 30 kilometres until the afternoon, leading to a confrontation with those managing traffic. 'You must see it to believe it. Why should citizens be put to unnecessary hardship? It is for the NHAI and the concessionaire to resolve their dispute,' the bench added. The matter will now be heard on August 18. In its August 6 decision, the Kerala high court ordered the suspension of toll collection at Paliyekkara for four weeks, directing the Union government to address public grievances in consultation with NHAI, the state chief secretary, and the concessionaire. It criticised NHAI for ignoring repeated reminders since February 2025, despite the public being obliged to pay for using national highways. The court underscored that NHAI's duty to ensure smooth traffic without obstructions was integral to its right to collect tolls. 'The moment public trust is breached, the right to collect toll fees cannot be forced on the public,' it said. The Centre had contended that the issue was limited to a 4.8km stretch, with the rest of the 65km highway unaffected, and assured the high court it would resolve the problem at the earliest. However, the high court found a clear breach of public trust and ruled that toll collection could not resume until remedial action was taken.
