The Kerala High Court on Wednesday expressed displeasure over the delay on the part of the Kochi Corporation in taking steps to stop dumping of waste from the slaughterhouse at Kaloor into the Thevara-Perandoor canal.
Justice Devan Ramachandran warned the civic body that the court would be left with no option but to order the closure of the slaughterhouse on the next day of posting, that is July 27, if it was not informed of the action taken in accordance with the State Pollution Control Board’s suggestions.
The court made the observation while hearing a petition on the cleaning of the canal.
The court had earlier observed that the discharge of waste directly into the canal could not be countenanced or allowed, as it had already directed the corporation to clean up the canal. It had held that the corporation was operating the slaughterhouse without a fully functional sewage treatment plant.
The court also directed the district administration to take immediate steps to complete the desilting of Vivekananda Thodu subject to orders on petitions filed by shop owners nearby.
The government pleader informed the court that the administration was not able to complete the renovation work on Vivekananda Thodu from South railway station to Mullassery Canal (Division 62), as some traders had obtained court orders allowing them to discharge waste into the canal. Discharge of waste into the canal had hampered its renovation work.
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Notice to corpn.
The Pollution Control Board (PCB) had slapped a show-cause notice on the corporation in September last year, specifying that, in the absence of an effluent treatment plant, waste from the slaughterhouse was being released into the Thevara-Perandoor canal. The PCB’s inspection also found that the biogas plant on the premises was defunct.
Corporation officials said a detailed project report for a modern facility at the same location was ready, and that approval from the corporation council was being awaited. The project, including an effluent treatment plant, will cost around ₹15 crore and will be funded by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).
After the corporation’s slaughterhouse at Mattancherry was shut around 10 years ago when it was found to be unhygienic, the one at Kaloor is the only sanctioned abattoir for the city, and it handles 200 large animals and 75 small animals daily.
