Already on the receiving end of a huge backlash over the recurring fire breakouts at its solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram, the Kochi Corporation’s cup of woes further spilled over on Saturday after the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) submitted a highly damaging report to the National Green Tribunal’s State Level Monitoring Committee (SLMC) entrusted with overseeing the implementation of Municipal Solid Waste Rules.
The SLMC chaired by former High Court judge A.V. Ramakrishna Pillai will in turn report the matter to the NGT. Pointing out failures on the part of the corporation, the KSPCB in its report accused the civic body of apathy for the alarming frequency of fire breakouts at Brahmapuram.
“The corporation hasn’t yet framed any action plan to dispose of legacy waste piling up at the plant. While it was finding it difficult to manage its own waste, the corporation has no business accepting waste from other local bodies, which are responsible for managing their own waste,” M.A. Baiju, Chief Environment Engineer, KSPCB, told The Hindu.
The board also pointed out that there was no proper facility to treat plastic waste owing mainly to the absence of proper segregation at source of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. Even temporary measures taken to regulate leachate generation during the recent SLMC visit seems to have broken down. Right now, there is no treatment happening at the plant but mere dumping, according to the KSPCB.
“We have found concentration of particulate matter in the atmosphere in the wake of the latest fire to be 200 in the two kilometre radius of the plant as against the acceptable range of 80, and the size of the particulate matter was found to be of 2.50 micrograms, which, according to global standards, is enough to infiltrate into lungs. This could lead to flare-ups in asthmatic and allergic patients,” said Mr. Baiju. However, no alarming presence of toxic gas was found in the atmosphere.