KOCHI: As the search to find who’s accountable for the Brahmapuram dump yard mess continues, the documents in possession with TNIE show that the entire structure of the deal for the Solid Waste Management project is riddled with several loose ends. Going by the documents, it’s difficult to pin the blame on any particular entity. The result: the blame game would continue.
As per the March 2020 government order, under the Disaster Management Act 2005, the state government in the LSG department shall take over the task of scientific management of the legacy waste accumulated at the Brahamapuram waste dumping yard from the Kochi corporation, as the local body is “not in a position to manage the legacy waste accumulated at Brahamapuram and has failed to take effective steps”.
This premise in the GO, however, stops short of mentioning who would take the onus if a mishap occurs at the site. The same order states that Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) is entrusted as the nodal agency by the government for managing the process relating to solid waste management disposal and will call for the tender for identifying an experienced and technically competent agency to manage and dispose of the legacy waste at Brahamapuram. It also stated that KSIDC will undertake this project under the supervision of the LSG department.
Similarly, there’s no clarity on the contract period of Zonta Infratech, which was awarded the biomining and capping of the legacy waste at Brahmapuram. As per another document with TNIE, Zonta signed the deal with Kochi corporation on September 6, 2021, for the biomining project at Brahampuram for a period of nine months, which is till June 5, 2022.
Now, both the officials of Zonta and the Kochi Corporation mayor himself, in statements made after the fire, said the firm had sought another nine months of extension to undertake the assigned work. This means a total of 18 months, ending on March 4, 2023. This means the contract was valid when the fire broke out on March 2.
However, Zonta claims that their contract was extended till June 30, 2023, and the same has been conveyed by the government to the local body. “Except for the verbal information, there are no documents available to substantiate the extension on records,” said a source with Kochi corporation.
As per the agreement, one of the clauses shows that “If the contractor neglect or fail to proceed with the work with due diligence or if he violates any of the provision of the contract, the Engineer-in-charge of LSGD/KSIDC shall give the contractor a notice demanding corrective actions. If the contractor fails to take satisfactory corrective action, the LSGD/KSIDC shall terminate the contract in whole.”
According to a highly-placed source, the Kochi corporation had notified the government about the unsatisfactory work of Zonta sometime last year. Following this, the Chief Secretary called a meeting of the stakeholders including Kochi Corporation, KSIDC, and Zonta. “In the next meeting, KSIDC submitted a report in favour of Zonta. Hence, the contract continued,” the source said. Officials of Zonta and KSIDC could not be contacted for comments.
Blame game to go on
As per a GO issued in March 2020, the LSG dept of the state govt is tasked with managing the waste treatment plant
9 months contract acquired by Zonta Infratech was later extended to 18 months
The same order states that KSIDC is entrusted as the nodal agency for managing the process relating to solid waste management disposal
There’s no clarity on the contract period of Zonta Infratech, which was tasked with biomining and capping the legacy waste
Zonta claims that their contract was extended till June 30, 2023, and the same has been conveyed by the government to the Kochi corporation authorities