Kochi Corporation stand on waste plant untenable, says PCB

Civic body told to install anaerobic digesters to treat solid refuse

The inspections carried out by board officials at Brahmapuram had found that the directives issued on installation of cameras, water tanks and providing drains to remove leachate were not implemented. | File

The State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) has rejected the Kochi Corporation’s position that setting up anaerobic digesters to treat solid waste lying at Brahmapuram was not practical.

The board has directed the civic body to install the facility without delay. The anaerobic digesters can be advantageously used to treat solid waste generated at Brahmapuram. It will help in reducing the quantity of waste considerably till the waste-to-energy plant turns a reality.

The contention that biodigester was impractical remains untenable, according to senior officials of the board.

The inspections carried out by board officials at Brahmapuram had found that the directives issued on installation of cameras, water tanks and providing drains to remove leachate were not implemented. It said that the quantity of city compost produced out of biodegradable waste dumped at the site was marginal compared to the daily waste collected by the Corporation.

No records were provided for assessing the quantity of the production of the city compost.

The State Level Monitoring Committee had reported that no action had been taken to install proper effluent facilities as agreed by the civic body earlier. All the windrow sheds were found in a dilapidated state. The construction of the drain around the dumping site was also pending.

The portion of the drain already constructed was not properly covered by concrete slabs. Officials said that old slabs discarded elsewhere were seen placed over the drain at a few places.

As the drains were partly open, there was every chance of oozed slurry from the open dump site and stormwater entering the drain, said a report filed by the committee.

The existing drain was blocked with hard slurry flowing from windrow composting yards and the primary biodegradable dumping area. Senior officials of the civic body informed the committee that security had been provided at the dumping site. Cameras had been installed. The Corporation had obtained administrative and technical sanction for setting up water tank at the site.