The Hindu 23.03.2013
Question mark over waste treatment plant at Chala
Residents want only 10 tonnes of garbage to be processed.
The delay on the part of the City Corporation in signing
the supply agreement and the mounting opposition of the local residents
has put a question mark on the 35-tonne solid waste treatment facility
at Chala, Minister for Urban Affairs, Manjalamkuzhi Ali has said.
Replying
to questions in the Assembly on Friday, the Minister said the
U.S.-based Loro Group is sceptical whether the Rs. 65 crore plant will
take off in view of the mounting opposition and the hurdles that had
been thrown up after the inking of the formal agreement with the company
to generate 3.2 MW of power daily.
Stating that the
local residents in Chala want only 10 tonnes of garbage to be processed
at the proposed plant, Mr. Ali said the take-off of the plant is
doubtful.
“We are in touch with the company. The City
Corporation was to sign the supply agreement in November and it has
failed to do so till date,” he added.
The Urban
Affairs Minister said garbage disposal was a big issue in the State and
the attempts made by the government to solve it had not met with success
due to opposition from people.
“People are not
allowing the setting up of garbage plants in their localities. The
people’s representatives are in the forefront of the agitations being
launched against the plants,” he told the House.
The
Minister said the move to use abandoned quarries in the capital for
depositing garbage and to construct platforms using garbage on the lines
of the successful implementation in Kochuveli and Murukkumpuzha had
also come in for opposition.
The Vilapilsala garbage
treatment plant was not closed down by the government as alleged by
many. It was the stir by the people of the locality that resulted in the
closure of the plant.
The Corporation and the
government cannot alone solve the problem and the people’s support is
needed for solving the crisis that had cropped up across the State, Mr.
Ali said while seeking the support of the legislators for overcoming the
hurdles.
The Urban Affairs Minister said under the
Constitution amendment 73 and 74, waste disposal had to be tackled by
the local bodies and it was their responsibility.
“We
can provide the financial assistance and technical help and we are
doing it. A sum of Rs. 2,219.67 crore was given in 2011-12 and and Rs.
630 lakh so far in 2012-13 for the Corporations in the State to tackle
the garbage crisis,” he said.