The City Corporation Council on Thursday adopted a resolution to launch source-level garbage treatment units through homestead-based treatment plants.
The project is being implemented as part of the Corporation's efforts to bring down the volume of garbage transported to the Vilappilsala solid waste treatment plant.
Project awaits approval
Mayor K. Chandrika said that although a Rs.80-lakh project had been included in the People's Plan Campaign of the Corporation this year, it had not been approved by District Planning Committee so far.
‘‘In the wake of the issue surrounding the Vilappilsala treatment plant, the Chief Minister has directed the Corporation to expedite the project. According to the understanding reached on the issue, the Corporation will have to take significant steps to reduce the volume of garbage being transported to the plant in the next three months,'' she said.
This is the first time the Corporation council is meeting after the Vilappilsala issue hit headlines following blockade of garbage trucks by the Vilappilsala Action Council. The Corporation had suspended the transport of garbage to the plant for two days earlier this month, following the blockade threat of the action council.
Under the source-level waste management project, the Corporation will provide subsidy to beneficiaries for setting up homestead-level waste treatment units like biogas plant, vermin composts, and ring composts. As many as 650 vermicompost, 1,100 ringcompost and 2,000 biogas plants will be set up in the first phase of the project.
The council on Thursday unanimously passed an adjournment motion moved by health standing committee chairman S. Pushpalatha requesting the State government to sanction Rs.5 crore under the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP) for the implementation of the project.
A resolution to construct leachate recycling units at the Vilappilsala garbage treatment plant was also passed on Thursday.
Two recycling units will be constructed at the plant, as directed by the Suchitwa Mission, at a cost of Rs.8 lakh. Centre for Environment and Development (CED) will implement the project with the technical support of Suchitwa Mission.
The council meeting witnessed stormy scenes following an adjournment motion moved by standing committee chairman V.S. Padmakumar condemning the Public Works Department's move to take up repair works of Corporation roads.
Mr. Padmakumar alleged that the State government was trying to debase the decentralisation system by sanctioning Rs.42 crore worth road repair works to the Works Department bypassing the Corporation machinery. He said that only Corporation roads having 3.75 meter or more width would be repaired under the scheme although most of the roads had only three meter width.
This led to strong protests from Opposition councillors who raised placards and slogans in support of the State government. Poojappura councillor K. Maheshwaran Nair said that Mr. Padmakumar was politicising the issue. ‘‘Instead of congratulating the State government for taking up the issue of roads, the council is trying to politicise the issue. The works standing committee of the Corporation could not complete even a single road repair work in the city till now,'' he said.
Ambalathara councillor A. Mujeeb Rehman said a team of UDF leaders had already met and requested the Chief Minister to include roads with three meter width also in the scheme.
Deaths condoled
Welfare standing committee chairman Palayam Rajan in an adjournment motion condoled the death of schoolchildren who were killed in an accident at Channankara. Mr. Rajan suggested the constitution of monitoring committees in different school zones to ensure that guidelines and safety norms for school vehicles issued by the Education Department and police were strictly followed.
The council unanimously passed a resolution moved by Manikkavilakom councillor R. Suresh Kumar seeking an increase in honorarium of councillors.
The council requested the State government to increase the honorarium to Rs.10,000 and provide allowances like travel allowance, medical expense, pension scheme as well as a ward-level fund to implement schemes.
