KOCHI: The Kochi corporation’s move to renew the agreement with Bhoomi Green, the agency carrying out biomining of legacy waste at the Brahmapuram dumping yard, has sparked a controversy. Leader of Opposition V A Sreejith wrote to the corporation secretary seeking cancellation of the agreement.
Speaking at the council meeting on Saturday, Sreejith said the report of the resurvey conducted by National Institute of Technology (NIT) Calicut should be tabled in the council. “Signing the agreement with the agency, without informing the council, is a violation of the rules. The agreement should be cancelled. Also, the report submitted by NIT on the amount of waste in the site should be tabled in the council,” he said.
The corporation, in January, had tasked NIT with a fresh assessment of the remaining legacy waste at Brahmapuram. Sreejith said the decisions of the council meeting on biomining had not been accurately recorded in the minutes.
Meanwhile, councillor V P Chandran urged a detailed study on whether the corporation has incurred any financial loss in making payments to contract companies involved in waste management.
“For the collection and processing of waste in the city, the corporation spent Rs 13.83 crore in the last financial year. As much as 12,933,397 kg of plastic waste was collected and removed, requiring a payment of Rs 5.41 crore by the corporation. The corporation has been spending several crores on waste collection and management.
It should be examined whether waste quantities are being artificially inflated and records manipulated to claim excess payments,” he said, demanding the immediate installation of two weighbridges at Brahmapuram to ensure accurate measurement and monitoring of waste brought to the site.
According to him, the corporation has to pay Rs 5.17 crore to W Kerala for collecting 12,335,753kg of plastic waste during the last financial year and Rs 24 lakh to Green Worms, which collected 597,644 kg of plastic waste during the same period.
Councillor seeks clarity
Councillor V P Chandran urged a detailed study on whether the corporation has incurred any financial loss in making payments to contract companies involved in waste management
Says it should be examined whether waste quantities are being artificially inflated and records manipulated to claim excess payments