THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Government has decided to provide Rs.1 crore from the funds available with the Clean Kerala Mission to the Kozhikode Corporation for tackling the problems at the Corporation's garbage processing plant at Njelianparambu on the suburbs of the city.

The decision was taken at a meeting convened by Minister for Local Administration Paloli Mohammed Kutty here on Wednesday. Industries Minister Elamaram Karim, Kozhikode Mayor Bhaskaran and top officials of the Department of Urban Development attended the meeting.

An official press release said the Corporation would take immediate steps to remove the piled-up garbage at Njelianparambu and process it. The garbage brought to the plant daily would be processed on the same day itself in future. The work on a new garbage processing unit at this place, which is going on, would be speeded up, so that it could be commissioned by August.

Our Kozhikode Staff Reporter writes

Mayor criticised

The Council for Environment Conservation has criticised the reported statement of the Mayor and the Health Standing Committee Chairman on the Njelianparambu issue at the council meeting on July 4 and warned that such provocative statements will only worsen the situation.

In a statement, general convener Kohinoor Saleem threatened to stop the Corporation vehicles and prevent unloading of garbage at the trenching ground if the authorities continued to take such a stand.

A meeting of the council on Wednesday warned that uncalled for statements by the authorities would only result in the residents of the Cheruvannur-Nallalam grama panchayat taking to a protest course once again.

The council wanted to know how Health Standing Committee Chairman P.T. Rajan could refer to those who participated in a meeting on the trenching ground issue in Thiruvananthapuram on March 18, 2005 a "lobby".

(The former Mayor Thottathil Raveendran, the then health standing committee chairman M. Bhaskaran among others had attended the meeting in Thiruvananthapuram when a decision was made to shift the trenching ground.)

The Council wanted to know in what way residents of the Cheruvannur-Nallalam grama panchayat had prevented the Corporation from building a roof at the yard.

The council wanted the authorities concerned to inquire into the manner in which funds earmarked for improving the trenching ground were being spent. It was further pointed out that the treatment plant had not been operated for even one hour since June 1.

The representatives of Poabs, firm entrusted with the task of treating the waste, had not visited the plant site either, it was alleged.

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