KOCHI: With multiple instances of fire outbreak at Brahmapuram waste treatment plant, State Level Monitoring Committee on solid waste management appointed by the National Green Tribunal has come down heavily on the city corporation for its laxity in implementing directions
For George V S, a native of Vadavucode-Puthencruz panchayat, life has always been a struggle. Ever since the arrival of the Brahmapuram waste treatment plant, his mornings are filled with the stench of waste, and days spent worrying about leachate being flushed into Kadambrayar river, that could lead to spread of epidemics.
The unceasing fires at the plant has made things far worse. “Brahmapuram used to be a picturesque region filled with lush green paddy fields. Over 200 families were living peacefully here. Since the arrival of the Brahmapuram waste treatment plant, almost 100 families have been forced to leave their land and flee elsewhere. Now, the remaining lot is thinking about a similar move. Last year too, there were repeated fire outbreaks at the plant and people are worried,” he said.
Though officials come up with various reasons for the fire, there is little or no effort being put in to end these mishaps, say the residents. Though the latest fire reported around noon on Friday was doused by evening, the State Level Monitoring Committee (SLMC) appointed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to oversee the solid waste management has come down heavily against the municipal body and state government for the willful negligence in addressing the issue.
Led by SLMC chairman Justice AV Ramakrishna Pillai, the committee comprising State Pollution Control Board officials inspected the area on March 3. “Although we had given a fresh set of instructions in July 2020, no action has been taken so far. Since 2019, there have been four fires at the facility. Other than building concrete pit to collect leachate from legacy waste, the officials haven’t executed any safety measures.They are still flushing out the treatment water through drains to the nearby Chithrapuzha and Kadambrayar river,” said Pillai.
Waste pile that grows bigger
The officials also observed that biodegradable waste is being dumped without any segregation. “The dysfunctional windrow composting unit is hindering solid waste management facilities. There have been no efforts to install a proper effluent treatment plant to replace the existing non-functional temporary plant. The septage treatment plant is also not working properly,” said the official.
Considering all these factors, SLMC will file their report to NGT within a week. “We have repeatedly asked the corporation to conduct a bio-mining process of legacy waste. But they are still continuing with two trommel machines at the site. Even if it works continuously for the next 10 years, the legacy waste cannot be treated. There needs to be an external effort to address the biomining. We will submit our detailed report to NGT within a week,” added Pillai.
BIOMINING DILEMMA
Although a Cosortium led by Bengaluru-based Zonta Infratech Pvt Ltd and Bauer GmbH had won the financial bid at a total cost of Rs 54.90 crore for clearing the legacy waste, many feel that it is an exaggerated figure. According to Kochi Corporation sources, the high rate is not affordable to the municipal body which is reeling under the financial crisis. “It has decided to assess the similar processes adopted by other cities before taking a final decision. NIT Kozhikode will quantify the existing waste and decide the payment during the work order. Although we have awarded the financial bid to Zonta, our payment will be purely based on the actual quantity of waste,” said a Corporation official.
EDDRAC OPEN TO A DECENTRALISED APPROACH
Meanwhile, Ernakulam District Residents Associations Apex Council (EDRAAC), the collective of residents’ association across the city, has welcomed the proposal put forward by the Kochi corporation to decentralise the waste management system in the city. “We have almost reached the final stages of realising the Waste to Energy (WTE) plant earlier. Due to unknown reasons, the state government has withdrawn from the move and started the entire process again.
As it takes a while to complete the entire process, Kochi corporation should fast-track its move to set up a decentralised waste management system in the city. Collaborating with residents associations and other social entities, the project can be implemented without further delay. That said, officials need to move forward with the setting up of a centralised plant at Brahmapuram. As a growing city with urbanised suburbs, we need both decentralised and centralised approaches to meet future demands,” said P Rangadasa Prabhu, president, EDRAAC.
NGT DEMANDS ACTION PLAN BY
April 5
Earlier, while transferring the petition against Kochi Corporation on non-compliance with Solid Waste Management Rules (2016) at Brahmapuram to the southern bench, it demanded an action taken report by April 5. “Despite repeating our direction over the last two years, no concrete action has been taken yet. Besides, the Kochi corporation continues unauthorized activities. They are yet to start biomining of legacy waste,” said the tribunal while attending the petition in January.