The Hindu     Kerala (Kochi)          01.09.2016 

Local body resolves to go ahead with energy plant

The proposed waste-to-energy plant at Brahmapuram will have two units, one for producing refuse-derived fuel blocks and another for generating power, Mayor Soumini Jain has said.

Replying to a debate in the corporation council on Wednesday, Ms. Jain said the project proponent would seek all mandatory clearances for the proposed plant. The local body will have the responsibility to provide the required quantity of waste for treatment at the plant.

The BPCL has entered into an agreement with the Kochi Corporation to provide Rs.25 crore viability gap fund.

The agency will provide financial assistance in five instalments, and an agreement was signed with the petroleum company on Tuesday, she said.

The Mayor also offered to conduct a technical presentation for councillors to have a better understanding of the project. CPI(M) councillor K.J. Antony said the waste-to-energy project had not been proved successful anywhere in the country, and that the local body was heading for trouble by going ahead with it.

Poornima Narayanan, another CPI(M) councillor, expressed apprehensions about the availability of 300 tonnes of waste required for the project.

ABC programme

Ms. Jain said the Animal Birth Control programme was a legally valid project to control canine population. The law permits culling of only rabid and severely injured dogs, she added.