Stating that the city of Thiruvananthapuram, which was once one of the most beautiful cities in the country, has now turned into a filthy place, Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor said that it was the unsystematic implementation of the Vilappilsala waste treatment plant that has led to the present situation.
‘’If the waste treatment plant at Vilappilsala was installed in a systematic way, the present situation would have been avoided,’’ he said while addressing a meet the press programme at the Kesari Memorial Hall here on Monday.
The Left-ruled City Corporation had commissioned the waste treatment plant at Vilappilsala without the proper installation of leachate treatment and filtration facilities, he alleged and said that the entire issue would not have arisen if these were properly installed before the commissioning of the plant.
‘’The plant was commissioned without taking into account the essential elements and the people living in Vilappilsala and its surroundings had to suffer. This has forced them to protest against the plant,’’ he said.
Pointing out that it was the City Corporation’s duty to see that the waste generated is properly disposed, Tharoor said that as a Member of Parliament, he had done everything that could be done. He also opined that there should be a centralised waste treatment plant, decentralised plants and segregation of waste at the point of origin.
HC BENCH
On the long-pending issue of a High Court bench in the capital city, Tharoor said that Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar had already written a letter to Chief Justice Manjula Chellur over the issue.
‘’We are trying our level best to see that the bench comes to the capital city,’’ he said. The executive and legislative decisions have been taken and now there is only the need of a judicial agreement, he said.