The State Pollution Control Board has suggested utilising the sewage treatment plant at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium at Kaloor to treat the sewage generated at the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Ernakulam.
The recommendation has been made as a temporary arrangement till the sewage treatment plant at the hospital turns functional. The hospital had come under the radar of the National Green Tribunal for not having a proper plant to treat the sewage. The board has asked the authorities to complete the augmentation work by August 31.
Senior board officials pointed out that the Greater Cochin Development Authority had agreed to treat the sewage generated from the medical college at the plant installed in the stadium. It has a capacity to treat 750 kilo litres of sewage daily. The secretary of the authority told a recent meeting convened by the board that an agreement could be executed with the hospital authorities.
The cost for processing the waste would be based on the quantity of sewage generated at the hospital. A trial run would be held to check the adequacy of the plant. The board would monitor the plant operation during the trial run period. It would collect samples to check whether the treated sewage conformed to the standards prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board.
The board has asked Infrastructure Kerala Ltd (Inkel), entrusted with the construction of the sewage treatment plant in the hospital, to expedite the augmentation work and complete it before August 31. The company authorities said that the work was delayed in view of the pandemic situation. Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), which is supporting the project, had raised some queries related to the structural stability of the tanks. The stability test is complete and the tanks and motors would be installed soon, it said.
