KOCHI: In a major relief to the Corporation, the stayed the National Green Tribunal(NGT) order slapping Rs 1 crore fine and a performance guarantee of Rs 3 crore on the civic body over its failure to set up a waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram.
According to the Corporation authorities, the court also directed Rs 1 crore should be deposited as the performance guarantee. The civic body approached the HC based on an earlier instance in which the court stayed the NGT directive banning 10-year-old vehicles and registration of any diesel vehicle in the capacity of 2000 CC.
The NGT’s order came following the visit of an advocate’s commission in September 2016 to the Brahmapuram plant to review the waste segregation process. Based on that, the NGT issued an order to set up a plant to prevent the wastewater seepage into the Kadambrayar from the yard. “We are really happy the High Court stayed the NGT order. Since NGT conducted the hearing through video conference our counsel didn’t get adequate opportunity to present the Corporation’s version. This may have resulted in the NGT pronouncing the order. Several certificates and licences are required for setting up the Brahmapuram plant. The process for the same is going in full swing.
The government has asked the District Collector to look into it. The plant will go on stream within 18 months after getting the required permission. The council meeting scheduled for Monday will discuss the NGT order,” said Mayor Soumini Jain.
A councillor belonging to the ruling UDF, who sought anonymity, said Monday’s scheduled council meeting has lost its relevance in the wake of the HC stay.“The special council session was convened to discuss the NGT order. But following the court order, the meeting has become pointless. Nonetheless, it will discuss the NGT order and the future course of action,” said the councillor.
The NGT’s directive was to commission the proposed waste-to-energy plant at Brahmapuram within six months and deposit Rs 3 crore as performance guarantee until completion of the plant came. If the plant does not materialise in six months, there will be an additional fine of `2 lakh for every day’s delay, according to the NGT order.