KOCHI: The Corporation’s alleged unilateral decision to revise the tipping charge for treating the garbage waste of Thrikkakara municipality at Brahmapuram plant has not gone down well with the latter.
The revised rates will mean Thrikkakara Municipality will have to cough up an additional `30,000 every month for waste disposal at Brahmapuram. “If this comes into effect we will have to find an additional `4 lakh. This is apart from the `2 lakh provided as tipping charge every month. We cannot accept the hike at any point,” said an officer with the Thrikkakara municipality.The Corporation didn’t initiate any talks with the Thrikkakara municipality before going in for the revision.
“It is basic courtesy to inform the municipality or to seek the opinion of the local body but they haven’t done anything of that sort,” the officer said.Neenu K, chairperson, Thrikkakara municipality said the Corporation had not discussed the issue with them. “It was during the final leg of the erstwhile committee’s tenure, the Corporation increased the tipping charge from `650 to `800. We couldn’t do anything then. But now we cannot accept such a price hike. This will impose a huge burden on the municipality. Moreover, they are using the municipality road to transport waste to the plant and we are not charging them for that,” she said.
Besides, Neenu said a meeting of the steering committee which has been scheduled for Monday will discuss the issue. “ We don’t have time to bring up the matter before the council. So a steering committee meeting will be called to discuss the matter. A final decision will be taken based on that,” she said.
Mayor Soumini Jain and Health Standing Committee chairperson V K Minimol were unavailable for comment on the issue. The MoU on the tipping charge signed between the Corporation and Thrikkakara municipality earlier had expired in February 2017.