Corp clips Pelican’s green efforts

Pelican Foundation’s request for waste from Brahmapuram to carry out  landscaping works in Kochi was shot down by Corp, citing norms  
Landscaping work under the Metro pillars at KaloorlAlbin Mathew
Landscaping work under the Metro pillars at KaloorlAlbin Mathew

KOCHI: For a city that has forever been grappling with waste management issues, the Kochi Corporation seems reluctant to part with the waste piles accumulated at the Brahmapuram waste treatment plant. Despite its failure to manage the garbage, the corporation has shot down the proposal mooted by Pelican Foundation, the agency entrusted with landscaping the medians under the Metro pillar, to transport waste from the plant’s dumping yard to be used as manure. 

According to Dr C N Manoj of Pelican Foundation, it approached the corporation six months ago to take waste at `2.20 per kg. “As per the proposal, the corporation was to pay us the said amount for transporting the waste. It was passed by the health standing committee and the Corporation council, but was shot down later,” he said.With the civic body backtracking, the Foundation is managing its ‘greening’ project with the support of the residents’ associations. 

People in the city, who are at the receiving end of the official apathy, came forward to do their bit by giving the waste generated at houses for free. The overwhelming response helped Pelican get eight truck loads of waste from Giri Nagar and 10 truck loads from Ernakulam Siva Temple, after its annual festival recently. “Though we have an uninterrupted supply of waste from residents’ associations, the support of the civic body would have helped us greatly. At the moment, we are only backed by  KMRL. Though we expected government funding, it did not materialise and our sole option now is to seek sponsorships,” he said.

Corp stance
The Corporation, on its part, has blamed an inept government directive for not backing a private initiative.
Mayor Soumini Jain said a government directive has banned parallel treatment of waste accumulated at Brahmapuram waste treatment plan.

“Every council meet sees over eight to 10 proposals regarding the Brahmapuram waste treatment plant. Many of them contradict each other. The council may have passed the proposal regarding supplying waste to the Pelican Foundation. But, as per the government directive, waste cannot be treated parallely. Once the waste-to-energy treatment plant comes up, we will need over 300 tonnes of waste per day. So, we need to have sufficient raw material,” said the Mayor. It requires over 10 tonnes of waste per median.

Traffic issues

Despite the positive response from residents, the Pelican Foundation has been facing trouble in transporting waste. “Many residents find it tedious to wait beyond 11 pm, the garbage collection time fixed by the traffic police. So, talks are on to reach a consensus,” said a Pelican Foundation official.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com