The Hindu 15.07.2009
Three firms short-listed to run waste treatment plant
Staff Reporter
| Corporation Council to take final decision on company |
DECISION PENDING: Waste being processed at the solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram in this file photo.
KOCHI: Three firms have been short-listed for running the solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram.
The firms were selected from the seven that submitted their expression of interest. The selection was done by an expert committee appointed by the Kochi Corporation.
The Health Standing Committee of the corporation, which is likely to meet this week, will consider the recommendation of the expert committee and forward it to the Corporation Council. It will be the council that will take the final decision.
Meanwhile, the maintenance works at the Brahmapuram plant have been completed and it will resume functioning on Wednesday. The functioning of the plant was suspended for about a fortnight for the process.
The corporation is planning to set up a workshop at the plant site for the repair of vehicles used at the plant. The civic authorities are planning to invite agencies for running the workshop.
The construction of the compound wall and related works would begin after the monsoon season. This was decided at a meeting convened to review the progress of the work.
The culture of segregating waste at the household level is yet to gain ground in Kochi even after one year of the introduction of the concept. There was non-degradable materials, including glass, in the garbage that is received at the Brahmapuram plant. This has been causing problems for the smooth functioning of the plant, said Mayor Mercy Williams.
The civic body has sought the help of an expert agency for evaluating the work carried out by the Andhra Pradesh Technology Development Corporation (APTDC) for the corporation. The APTDC had complained that the corporation had not settled the outstanding bills. The bills can be settled only after obtaining the report of the agency and the corporation council examining it. If the bills are settled otherwise, it would invite audit objection, Ms. Mercy Williams said.