Biomedical waste plant: Corp asked to hand over land

KOCHI: The corporation council’s refusal to hand over its three-acre land at Brahmapuram to Indian Medical Association Goes Eco-friendly (IMAGE) for setting up a biomedical waste treatment plant did not succeed after District Collector S Suhas issued an order to hand over the land to IMAGE.

The collector overruled the corporation using Section 30 of the Disaster Management Act, which gives him special powers to prevent disasters in the district.The council came to know about this when the collector asked the council’s nod for handing over the three acres of land to IMAGE. However, Mayor Soumini Jain on Thursday postponed the agenda after the opposition demanded more time to study the supplementary agenda.

The government’s decision to put pressure on the civic body came in the wake of  IMAGE voicing concern over treating massive quantities of biomedical waste from hospitals at its only plant in Palakkad.

“If the plant becomes a reality, the whole biomedical waste from the southern district will come to Brahmapuram. At present, the residents of Vadavukodu-Puthenkurissu panchayat are opposing the dumping of garbage waste. This will trigger mass protest in future. A policy decision is inevitable before going ahead with the proposal,” said opposition leader K J Antony and councillor V P Chandran.

Meanwhile, the corporation council witnessed heated debate when it decided to pledge its new building and land near Goshree bridge to avail of  a loan of `25 crore to complete the work on its new office.

“The corporation has huge financial problems and availing a loan of `25 crore will aggravate  it further. The corporation should take necessary steps to increase revenue generation. If it fails to do so, it will plunge into a huge financial crisis. The interest rate of the loan is high and it can not be accepted,” said Antony, who demanded the corporation to present its balance sheet.

Konthuruthy canal work: More families to face eviction
Kochi: Mayor Soumini Jain has said families living on the banks of Konthuruthy canal would be evicted. “The corporation had decided to widen the canal to 16m but the High Court directed to widen it to 46m. It will result in the eviction of more families,” the mayor said. Mayor also said there are plans to build a flat to rehabilitate the evicted families. “The government should provide financial assistance for the project,” she said.