The Kozhikode Corporation Council has decided to cancel its contract with Zonta Infratech for biomining and capping at Njeliyanparamba after the firm failed to complete the work despite several extensions.
At a meeting on Wednesday, the council also decided to terminate its contract with Malabar Waste Management Private Limited for the construction of the proposed waste-to-energy plant at the site considering the uncertainty surrounding it and environmental issues faced by local residents. The decisions have been forwarded to the State government for approval. The Corporation has also sought legal counsel on the matter.
The council also decided to cancel its contract with Seemak Group for the construction of the 7-mld sewage treatment plant (STP) at Avikkal Thodu under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) project. As the project was delayed due to public protest and a petition in the Kerala High Court, the firm asked for a higher amount considering the added expenses. However, the State had already directed the Corporation to re-tender it. So the Corporation served a termination notice to Seemak Group and decided to return the deposit it had made for the contract.
On the other hand, the Corporation decided to take over the pipes that had been imported by Nasit Infra Projects to lay the pipeline network for the said STP project, and to use them instead for the proposed STP project at Sarovaram. The company had asked the Corporation for payment as the project did not take off. The Kerala Water Authority, which is carrying out the STP project at Sarovaram, has approved the use of the pipes. However, Deputy Mayor C.P. Musafar Ahamed said the Corporation had not given up the STP project at Avikkal Thodu. Instead, it was planning to float a new tender for it.
Earlier in the meeting, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) councillor K. Moideen Koya had brought up an adjournment motion in connection with the alleged dysfunctionality of K-Smart, the newly introduced online system, in the Corporation. Though Mayor Beena Philip denied permission for the motion, councillors of the ruling front and the Opposition engaged in a war of words. The Deputy Mayor drew curtains on the debate commenting that it would take any new system some time to be completely functional.
Mr. Koya also drew the council’s attention to the renovation of the Kallai estuary. Despite being discussed for the past two decades, the project failed to take off due to technical reasons. Mr. Koya pointed out that further delay in carrying out the project could lead to flooding in Kozhikode city, citing the recent floods in Chennai.
Corporation Superintending Engineer M.S. Dileep said that the three tenders floated for the project in the past did not earn the desired result and the Corporation was planning to float a fourth one soon, as there was no other option.
Mayor Beena Philip chaired the session.
