The Kallai River Protection Committee is planning to move court against the Kozhikode Corporation’s attempt to construct a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) on the river. It is also planning to mobilise people against the project if the corporation is determined to implement it despite the strong protest from locals against clearing the mangrove forest along Pallikandy-Azheekal road for the purpose.
The local people were alerted about the setting up of the project a fortnight ago when corporation officials turned up at the site to survey it and cut down the mangrove trees. However, they intervened to prevent the cutting of trees.
“Ironically, the STP project is proposed to be implemented at Kothi which is 1.5 kilometres away from here. How can the corporation change the site of the STP when the DPR has been published and the funds have been allotted?,” Faisal Pallikkandy, secretary of the committee, asked.
Besides, the corporation will have to fill a portion of the river to set up the plant, which is a clear violation of Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) norms. The project will come under CRZ censure even if it is implemented at Kothi as planned earlier. “The CRZ norms are not meant for common people alone. Even the government and local bodies have to adhere to it,” he added.
The committee is irked by the move since the corporation has allegedly made no effort to implement the project for the development of the river for which ₹7 crore had been sanctioned a year ago. “We raised all these issues at the meeting convened by the Mayor a few days ago, but did not get a satisfactory reply and hence we had to walk out of it,” Mr. Pallikkandy said.
Meanwhile, the Mayor had said in the meeting that all the apprehensions of local people would be addressed before the STP is set up. However, the corporation authorities failed to answer the queries posed by the activists and members of local residents’ associations who had turned up at the meeting.
“If the corporation is ready to address the apprehensions, why not the Mayor or Deputy Mayor show a model by implementing similar projects in their own wards? In fact, there is a 70-cent plot available in the Deputy Mayor’s ward which was left out from what was acquired for the Kothi approach road,” Mr. Pallikandy alleged.
The committee had sent a memorandum to the Chief Minister citing the issue earlier for which the latter has replied by directing the District Collector to look into the matter.