The State Level Monitoring Committee (SLMC) on Solid Waste Management, constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), has directed the Maradu Municipality to initiate urgent steps to prevent the flow of concrete waste from the debris of Golden Kayolaram apartments into the nearby Vembanad lake.
The directive was issued at the sitting of the committee held in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. The SLMC had found during its visit to the Golden Kayaloram site on Saturday that the concrete sludge that emerged after spraying water (to contain dust) was flowing into the lake.
The unchecked seepage of concrete sludge into the waterbody will affect fish population in the lake.
Even though it will not have an immediate impact, concrete waste flowing into the lake will eventually take a toll on fish diversity, the committee observed.
The committee has asked Snehil Kumar Singh, Revenue Divisional Officer, Fort Kochi, who was in charge of the demolition, and the Maradu Municipality to take steps to stop the flow of concrete sludge into the lake. If they are not able to contain it, steps should be taken to ensure double-filtering of waste before discharging it to the waterbody, it said.
Civic body’s obligation
The SLMC made it clear that the Maradu municipal council had an obligation to ensure scientific removal and processing of debris in accordance with the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016.
Any reluctance on the part of the council will have to be reported, and follow-up action should be taken, the committee said. Meanwhile, the panel directed the civic body to strengthen spraying of water over debris using revolving type jet sprinklers, besides taking measures to implement sound and dust control measures on a regular basis.
Barriers
It suggested providing additional barriers with metal sheets and specific dust control facilities like double-layered garden at the sites. Periodic wetting of roads and CCTV surveillance of the sites have to be ensured, it ordered.
The committee appreciated the efforts made by Mr. Snehil Kumar Singh and R. Venugopal, Deputy Chief Controller of Explosives, Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation, to complete the demolition process without causing much damage to life and property nearby the apartment buildings.
