Thrikkakara Municipality and Kochi Corporation will soon ink an agreement for processing waste from the municipality.A Memorandum of Understanding will be signed once the Kochi Corporation council okays the proposal. The Health Standing Committee of the corporation has recommended to the council that the proposal can be agreed upon and MoU signed.

The understanding reached between the civic bodies also marks the end of a tiff between the two. Earlier, a section of the councillors of the municipality had blocked the vehicles transporting refuse to the solid waste treatment plant site at Brahmapuram.

Blockade

The blockade was for highlighting the demand that the waste from Thrikkakara too should be processed at Thrikkakara.Like most of the civic bodies, the management of municipal solid waste had been causing headache to the municipal administration. The spilling over of the partially decomposed refuse to the streets had raised health concerns too.

P.A. Muhamadali, chairman of the Thrikkakara Municipality, said that an understanding was reached between the Kochi Corporation and the civic body regarding the processing of waste.

The Kochi Corporation is paying around Rs.550 a tonne to a private agency for processing waste at its plant site. The municipality too is willing to pay that amount for treatment and segregation of waste, he said.

Fee revised

Earlier, there was an agreement between the two agencies for processing. It was agreed upon that the municipality would pay Rs.1,200 a tonne as processing fee. However, it was renegotiated and the revised amount was fixed. It is estimated that the municipality is churning out around 10 tonnes of waste a day, he said.

Meanwhile, there are indications that the municipality may not be providing segregated waste to the plant site. The municipal chairman was of the view that the fee was being paid for the segregation of waste. However, the corporation authorities wanted segregated waste to be supplied to the plant and the fee was charged for its processing. The fee suggested was for processing of segregated decomposable waste at the site, said T.K. Ashraf, chairman, Health Standing Committee of the corporation.Only bio-degradable waste would be processed and plastic refuse will not be allowed, Mr. Ashraf said.

Processing at source

Even while making attempts to process bulk quantities of waste at Brahmapuram, the municipality is planning to initiate a few steps for processing of waste at the source.

Pipe composting will be introduced in the municipality shortly. The civic body has already issued bio pots to 1,500 persons in its area. Negotiations are also on with a few agencies for providing biogas plants in the municipality. Only those agencies approved by the Suchitwa Mission can be invited for supplying biogas plants. The local body will provide 75 per cent subsidy for such ventures, Muhamadali said.

The efforts for processing of waste at source have started showing results and the volume of garbage that is overflowing to the streets has come down considerably. The municipality may have to send three or four tonnes of waste for processing at the Brahmapuram plant, he said.