With the proposed waste-to-energy plant at Njeliyanparamba taking longer to materialise than expected, the Kozhikode Municipal Corporation is trying hard to keep its waste treatment plant at the site running.
After the civic body took over the plant in August 2019 from IL&FS, the machinery was found to be in a poor condition. “Owing to constant handling of waste, several units had rusted or corroded. We had to replace at least some of them to keep the plant going,” said Corporation Secretary Binu Francis. Nearly ₹3 lakh was spent on repairing the machinery then.
Of late, the corporation allocated ₹4.66 lakh for repair work. The plant supervisor had sought ₹3.36 lakh for buying spare parts and ₹1.3 lakh as labour charge.
“IL&FS had set up the plant almost 10 years ago. The machines have been in operation since its inception, and wear and tear is natural. But we cannot afford to slow down work because of that,” Mr. Francis said.
At the same time, the corporation has refrained from replacing the machinery completely, as it costs around ₹2 crore. “We will not need them once the waste-to-energy plant is completed. So, there is no point in a complete replacement,” he added.
Several workers employed by IL&FS had resigned before the plant was taken over by the corporation, and hence, the civic body had to appoint 10 skilled workers to run the plant, besides a supervisor.
The corporation had faced music way back in 2013 for extending the contract with IL&FS, as allegations of corruption in the purchase of organic manure from the plant by the civic body were rife. Later, the company plunged into financial crisis and demanded at least ₹7 lakh a month from the corporation to run the plant. However, it stopped functioning in April 2019, resulting in unprocessed waste getting piled up at Njeliyanparamba, forcing the civic body to take over the plant.
