The Kozhikode Corporation has initiated talks with GAIL (India) Limited for a natural gas plant that may replace the proposed waste-to-energy (WTE) plant at Njeliyanparamba. GAIL authorities held the first round of discussions with Mayor Beena Philip in this regard.
“The proposed WTE plant has not reached anywhere due to which the government has decided to seek alternatives. Discussions are on about the natural gas plant, which may be implemented as a pilot project in Kozhikode,” said Thottathil Raveendran, MLA.
It was in 2019, during Mr. Raveendran’s tenure as Mayor, that the foundation for the WTE plant was laid. The ₹250-crore project was to be set up by Zonta Infratech. The company also had another ₹7.77-crore contract with the Kozhikode Corporation to prepare the 6.5 acres of land through biomining and to carry out capping in another 2.28 acres.
Four years later, Zonta Infratech failed to prepare the ground despite the Corporation extending the deadline seven times. The fire at the Brahmapuram waste treatment plant in Kochi put the company in poor light, and the Corporation, owing to pressure from the Opposition, had to drop the firm from the project. It also had to pay a fine of ₹38.85 lakh for the delay.
The situation with Zonta Infratech led to several tense situations and dramatic scenes during Corporation Council meetings. The Corporation refused to extend Zonta Infratech’s contract further and had to take matters into its own hands during the monsoon by covering piles of garbage using plastic sheets to prevent leakage of polluted water into nearby waterbodies.
The GAIL authorities are expected to submit a proposal for the natural gas plant by the end of September. It would then be placed before the Corporation Council for approval, said Mr. Raveendran.
