And Mayor Mercy Williams is beaming.

Even though the condition of the Solid Waste Treatment Plant at Brahmapuram is pathetic, she says that garbage piles have disappeared from the city. Rotting garbage mounting at various places was a common sight in Kochi a few months ago. Though the authorities have not placed waste bins at every nook and corner of the city they have managed to implement a systematic method to ensure timely collection of solid waste.

So forget waste treatment, Kochi can heave a sigh of relief that it has cleaned the streets and has dumped the waste somewhere else.

“The introduction of waste treatment system at apartments and setting up of the plant at Brahmapuram have helped our efforts to keep the city garbage-free,” the Mayor said.

She praised the efforts taken by the Kerala Builders Forum which had joined hands with the civic body in its Clean Kochi scheme.

“The concept of ‘clean city’ needs to be deep-rooted in the minds of city residents so that they practise waste segregation and proper disposal methods,” the Mayor said. The award is definitely a recognition of the Corporation’s efforts to dispose waste materials.

But the question is whether the entire mission will be successful without the proper functioning of the treatment plant at Brahmapuram.

“Of course not.

We are thinking of all possibilities to increase the efficiency of the Brahmapuram plant. Machines will be installed at the refuse derived fuel (RDF) plant here by January to treat non-biodegradable waste,” the Mayor said. But that seems a bit distant. Right now the Corporation authorities are basking in the glory of the award which will be presented by Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy on Thursday.