THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The all-party meeting convened by the Vilappil Panchayat on Thursday decided to ask the State Government to close down the garbage plant as promised earlier. The meeting unanimously decided not to allow the transportation of garbage or processing material to the plant till the Government fulfills its promise given on December 21, 2011, to close down the plant and to takeover the land from the City Corporation.
Whether to allow the processing of the accumulated waste at the plant or not will be decided at an all-party meet which would be held after the Government decision.
Vilappil Panchayat president Sobhanakumari said people will not allow any garbage truck to the plant till it is closed down and the land taken over by the Government. "The panchayat will offer all possible support to the people’s protest,’’ she added. "We are also planning to slam a legal notice on the Corporation for running the plant without the mandatory licence issued by the panchayat,’’ Sobhanakumari said. The licence for the plant has not been renewed by the panchayat since 2001.
The all-party meeting was convened as a follow-up to a request by the three-member sub-committee constituted by the Government to resolve the issue.
The committee, comprising Urban Affairs Minister Manjalamkuzhi Ali, Health Minister V S Sivakumar and Panchayat Minister Dr M K Muneer had, on Wednesday, asked the panchayat whether the Corporation could resume the processing of the accumulated waste at the plant.
Thursday’s all-party meeting was attended by Congress mandalam president A Babukumar, CPM local secretary Cherukodu Murugan, CPI local secretary G Satheeshkumar, BJP mandalam president Sreekumar, CMP leader Gopeendraprasad and Kerala Congress leader Thampi.
The meeting decided to communicate its decision to the State Government on Friday.