The amicus curiae, appointed by the Kerala High Court in the Marine Drive case, on Tuesday suggested setting up a centralised sewage treatment plant in the city.
In a report submitted to the High Court, Amicus Curiae Liju V. Stephen said that sewage waste disposal still posed a problem to the city because of lack of proper drainage.
The report was filed in respsonse to a High Court directive for inspecting Marine Drive areas and checking whether the sewage from nearby buildings was being emptied into the backwaters.
The Kochi Corporation and officers of the State Pollution Control Board had informed the amicus curiae that a sewage treatment plant maintained by the Kerala Water Authority at Elamkulam catered for only six per cent of the population of Kochi. It was found that due to the non-functioning of the central sewage pipeline, the STP was not functioning to its full capacity. The report suggested that a modern STP be installed on the land of KWA at Elamkulam so that major problems in sewage disposal could be addressed.
The amicus curiae further submitted that unless proper sanitation measures were taken, a civic society could not sustain a healthy environment. The government and local body authorities needed to provide sufficient infrastructure to address such issues.
The officers of PCB informed the amicus curiae that no licence or consent had been issued to apartment complexes at Marine Drive for discharging effluent water into the backwaters.