KOCHI: Two judges of the Kerala High Court – Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas and Justice Gopinath P – who are considering the case registered suo motu in connection with the fire at the dumpyard in Brahmapuram will visit the site on March 6 at 3.30pm. The judges will examine the facilities set up there by the Kochi corporation. The court has also directed the fire officer in charge of the district to be present on the site.
When the case came up for hearing, the Division Bench said they would like to personally visit the area while the work is on. The court said that it wanted to see the functioning of fire hydrants placed there. The HC stressed that there should not be any delay in setting up a new plant to treat biodegradable waste using black soldier flies.
“What was submitted to the court on the last posting was that by February second week the project will be implemented. Now we are in the first week of March,” the Division Bench said.
On January 31, the Kochi corporation had informed that the Black Solider Fly Project was awarded to two different agencies.
“The first plant will be operational by the second week of February. It is submitted that the project was scheduled to commence by the end of December 2023 but was delayed on account of certain technical issues, including the availability of power connection from the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB),” the corporation had said. On Friday, the corporation submitted that electricity connection has not yet been obtained and that a request was filed before the KSEB on February 28. The court directed the KSEB to speed up the process to provide power.
Meanwhile, Bhumi Green Energy has started bio-mining and large quantities of legacy waste has already been processed. The corporation has posted dedicated officials to monitor the work of bio-mining and the National Environmental Energy Research Institute is to conduct a third-party audit in terms of the agreement executed between the corporation and Bhumi Green Energy.
Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas said, during the visit to the proposed site for the Judicial City, he could see waste piled up on the roadside in the Kalamassery area. The Kochi Metro’s property was also filled with waste, the Bench said.
Bio mining of legacy waste
Bhumi Green Energy has started bio-mining and large quantities of legacy waste has already been processed
The corporation has posted dedicated officials to monitor the work of bio-mining and the National Environmental Energy Research Institute is to conduct a third-party audit in terms of the agreement executed between the corporation and Bhumi Green Energy