THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With Kochi reeling under smoke billowing from its own dumpyard, a high-level meeting on Wednesday decided not to allow plastic to be transported to the Brahmapuram waste treatment plant. The meeting, with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the chair, also voted to treat organic waste at the source.
The meeting approved the Kerala State Pollution Control Board’s (PCB) proposal that the Kochi corporation should collect plastic waste from its limits, segregate it and hand it over to either the Clean Kerala Company or recyclers. The segregation will be done at the civic body’s 21 health circles.
At the meeting, PCB officials said both the corporation and the contractor firm failed to comply with the nine-month time frame agreed upon for completing biomining. The corporation failed to establish the waste-to-energy plant, it said. To treat organic waste at the source, it was decided to repair the windrow composting system on a warfooting. The transportation facility to the Brahmapuram plant will be improved.
An empowered committee has been constituted with the district collector and the corporation authorities as members to monitor the works. An awareness campaign will be launched among residents in Kochi. Ministers, MLAs and other people’s representatives will attend the drive.
Ernakulam District Collector Renu Raj informed the meeting that all steps were taken to douse the fire that broke out on March 2. Ministers P Rajeeve, M B Rajesh and Veena George, Kochi Mayor M Anilkumar, Chief Secretary V P Joy and other officials also attended the meeting.
More steps
Better transportation to Brahmapuram to be ensured Monitoring panel having collector and corporation authorities formed