Thrikkakara Municipality has said it will acquire five acres at Brahmapuram to establish a set of facilities that will permanently solve the problem of waste disposal, which has been dogging the municipal administration for over two decades.
Rashid Ullampally, Health Standing Committee chairman, said the municipal authorities had identified five acres at Brahmapuram, where the civic body not only planned to set up a modern waste disposal facility but also a modern abattoir and a facility for sterilising dogs and taking care of them. He said that ₹5 crore had already been set aside for the initial works.
The land price will have to be decided upon by the district authorities before the municipality is able to take over land from willing sellers, he said. The land had been identified and there was no obstruction to obtaining it for the project, he added. He said that proper waste disposal had been a big problem for the municipality.
It is estimated that around 40 tonnes of waste is generated in the municipal area every day. It include about 20 to 22 tonnes of biodegradable waste as well as a portion of non-biodegradable waste being thrown around the municipal areas. An incinerator is also part of the municipal programme for scientific waste disposal.
The municipality has come under criticism for not addressing the issue of waste disposal and basically dumping the collected waste at a yard close to the District Collectorate and the headquarters of the district panchayat. Once the centralised waste disposal facility comes up at Brahmapuram, the municipal authorities plan to establish a shopping complex as well as a garden and a park at the place where waste is being dumped now.
The bus station, which is now working close to the waste dumping yard, can also be developed after the waste treatment facility is shifted to Brahmapuram. A team comprising municipal Chairperson Ajitha Thankappan and Vice Chairman A.A. Ibrahimkutty had visited Brahmapuram recently as part of the efforts to identify land for the waste treatment plant.