The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Corporation may take over Vilappilsala plant

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Wednesday, Aug 01, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Corporation may take over Vilappilsala plant

Staff Reporter

‘No additional land to be given to the plant’

‘Development seminar’ to be held on August 5
Decentralisation of garbage treatment a long-term solution

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The City Corporation will take over the Poabsons-run garbage treatment plant at Vilappilsala if the company refuses to run the plant as per the conditions laid down by the civic body.

This was decided at a meeting of the Corporation Council here on Tuesday. The Corporation health committee earlier accepted the recommendations of the R.V.G. Menon Committee set up by the civic body to study the problems relating to the plant.

The committee had recommended that the Corporation need not pay any compensation to Poabsons, that the company be asked to immediately increase the plant’s capacity so that 220 to 250 tonnes of garbage can be processed daily, that the Corporation institute a mechanism to check the quality of discharge from the plant, that no additional land be given to the plant and that the Corporation desist from paying any ‘tipping fee’ to the company.

If the company refuses to run the plant under these conditions, the Corporation should consider taking over the plant, the R.V.G. Menon Committee recommended. In such a situation, Poabsons can be paid a sum of Rs.5.2 crore. The Corporation should ask the company to pay compensation for environmental damages caused. The civic body should also try to find alternate arrangements, agencies such as Kudumbasree, for running the plant, the committee recommended.

Mayor C. Jayan Babu, in his introductory remarks, outlined the recommendations of the R.V.G. Menon Committee and said that the health committee had made out a case for the Corporation’s take-over of the plant. Health committee chairman G.R. Anil, in his address, recommended that the plant be taken over by the Corporation and pointed out that the plant could only process about 150 tonnes of garbage on a daily basis.

Participating in the discussion that followed councillor Kuriathi Sasi said the Government should act immediately to solve the issue. A case can be filed against the company for compensation and efforts should be made to find another firm to run the plant, he said.

In his address, the former Deputy Mayor Sujanapriyan said the Corporation should sign a new contract with Poabsons. The company should be asked to declare openly that their plant can only process 157 tonnes of garbage daily as opposed to the tonnage specified in the contract. If it does not do so, the contract should be cancelled, he said. Some councillors said the Corporation should take a mature decision on the matter and that all avenues for an amicable solution should be explored before deciding to take over the plant. There was also a suggestion to set up mini-garbage treatment plants in the city.

The Mayor, in his concluding remarks, said the decentralisation of garbage treatment was the only long-term solution. The Corporation would hold talks with representatives of Poabsons to try and arrive at a satisfactory solution, he added. The council then accepted the recommendations of the R.V.G. Menon Committee.

The discussion between the City Corporation, Minister for Local Administration Paloli Mohamed Kutty and representatives of Poabsons scheduled to be held on Tuesday evening has been postponed to Wednesday.

The Mayor also informed the council that a ‘development seminar’ would be organised at St. Joseph Higher Secondary School on August 5. The seminar would discuss the preparation of the annual plan 2007-08 as part of the 11th five-year plan, he added.

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