Two private firms will be allowed to use black soldier flies to process food waste on an experimental basis at the Brahmapuram dumping yard for three months.
A special meeting of the Kochi Corporation Council on Wednesday allowed the firms to try processing 10 tonnes of waste for the period. The companies will be allotted four acres each for setting up the plant. At the same time, Opposition councillors objected to the proposal to grant the project to the two firms, which quoted different rates. Some councillors pointed out that providing different rates to two companies for the same project would eventually land the Corporation in trouble.
The meeting decided to review the contract with the two firms after evaluating the processing of waste. The companies would be paid according to the quantity of waste they process, Mayor M. Anilkumar informed the council.
The project is being conceived as an interim measure till the compressed biogas plant of the BPCL Kochi Refinery becomes a reality, the council was informed.
The meeting decided to appoint an expert committee to evaluate the technical aspects of biomining of legacy waste at Brahmapuram. A final call on the matter will be taken on the basis of the expert panel report. Discussions on bringing down the processing fee would also be held later, the Mayor informed the council.
The decision was taken after the Opposition councillors objected to the proposal to assign the task to the firm as they feared that it would bring a huge financial burden on the civic body. They also sought clarity on the bid documents and demanded an explanation for the high rates quoted by the firm.
Corporation Secretary Babu Abdul Khadeer explained the process through which the firm was selected and the cost involved.
