KOCHI: With the barely a week remaining for the expiry of the 45-day deadline given by the Supreme Court to complete the debris segregation work at Maradu demolition sites, the firm tasked with the work has decided to seek an extension for completing it.
Representatives of the firm Vijay Steels and Explosives said they would write to Fort Kochi sub-collector Snehil Kumar Singh, who was in charge of the demolition of the illegal highrises, citing their inability to wrap up the process within the deadline.
“Our workers are trying their best to complete the process with the least environmental impact. The work has picked up momentum,” said Siddique N, a representative of the firm. He said the neighbouring residents’ demand to spray water on the debris during segregation contributed to the delay.In its report submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the State-Level Monitoring Committee (SLMC) had also said the segregation work would not be over within the schedule.
Recommendation
The SLMC report recommended the NGT to issue strict directives to Maradu municipality authorities for carrying out the work as per regulations.
“They are yet to collect proper details of the segregation and removal work. Installation of wind breakers and sprinkle systems is yet to materialise. The details furnished by the municipality are fully vague,” said the report.
It said though Prompt Enterprises, which is removing the debris, had started making products out of the rubble, proper logbook details of the locations the debris was being shifted to had not been provided. The report also said that trenches dug near the now-demolished Alfa Serene and Golden Kayaloram apartment complexes to prevent the flow of contaminated water into the backwaters had not been covered with geotextile sheets.