Kochi: There’s hope for Eloor – Edayar industrial area identified as one of the most toxic hotspots in the world by Greenpeace International and various other agencies.
It has been selected among the eight spots most contaminated by hazardous waste in the country by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) , for its ‘Remediation of hazardous waste contaminated dumpsites’ project, which could make the Eloor - Edayar stretch a healthier place to live in and bring it several long term social and environmental benefits.
“The MoEF will provide 40 per cent of the project cost under the National Clean Energy Fund and the state government or the beneficiaries will have to raise the remaining amount,” said Mr K. Sajeevan, chairman of the state pollution control board.
The project,which has an initial outlay of '805 crore, is expected to be implemented in two phases with the first assessing the extent and nature of contaminants in surface/sub-surface, ground water and soil and doing a detailed risk assessment study and the second, seeing work get underway on repairing the damage done by hazardous waste.
A post-remediation monitoring plan will also be prepared. A government approved consultancy, Environmental Resources Management (ERM) , which is preparing a detailed project report (DPR) at a cost of '.3.15 crore, is expected to submit it to the MoEF in six months.
“Representatives of ERM were in Eloor to collect data and the previous studies conducted by various national and international agencies.
They held discussions with green activists and municipal authorities. Once the DPR is submitted, a global tender will be floated to find a suitable agency which has the latest technology to de-contaminate the area,” claimed Mr Purushan Eloor, a member of the Periyar Malineekarana Virudha Samithi (PMVS).
