KOCHI: The Kerala High Court, on Wednesday, asked the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation to file a detailed affidavit with regard to the steps already taken by it for the disposal of the accumulated waste in the Vilappilsala treatment plant.
A Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice V Chitambaresh passed the order while considering the petitions filed by Thiruvananthapuram Corporation seeking Court intervention in the waste management dispute.
The Court also asked specifics, especially about the accumulated solid waste in the plant. The Court adjourned the hearing of the petitions to March 19.
The Court had earlier directed the Government to provide police protection for running the Vilappilsala treatment plant without any obstruction and had asked to open the locks of the gates of the plant to enable garbage vehicles to enter the plant. However, Vilappil panchayat president Shobhana Kumari, along with the agitators, organised protests and blocked the movement of garbage trucks, the Corporation submitted.
The Court orally observed that there was inaction on the part of police. The Court further asked the current situation in the solid waste treatment plant. To which, the Corporation submitted that the agitators had blocked the waste being carried to the plant despite the Court order and the mediation process going on.
However, the Court asked the panchayat to allow waste treatment at the plant till the mediation process was over. But the panchayat was reluctant to obey the direction. “Do you want Thiruvananthapuram city to be covered with heaps of waste?” the Court asked.