Thiruvananthapuram: Efforts are on in full swing to relocate the proposed waste to energy plant at Peringamala to government-owned land at Muttathara, which is closer to the city.
However, it’s not going to be a cake walk for the government to execute the project as public resistance is going to be a major hurdle for the execution of the project. Also getting the mandatory clearance fr-om the Airport Authority of India (AAI) is going to be a challenge for the authorities.
The waste-to-energy project in the state capital was announced over a year ago by the Kerala government. Owing to stiff protest from the villagers, the government had to drop its plan to set up the plant at the ecologically sensitive Peringa-mala.
An official said that the government is currently considering the land at Muttathara.
“The government has decided to move the project to another location closer to the city. The project would be taken up under PPP Mode and hence only after calling tenders we would know more about the technology which would be used at the plant,” said an official. The official said that there is height restriction and the height of the funnel at the waste to energy plant would be an issue.
“There are technologies available which would comply with the AAI’s rules. “We have to float the tenders first. We are expecting 15 to 20 acres land at Muttathara,” the official added. Meanw-hile, the waste to energy projects at Kochi and Kozhikode are fast progressing.
The National Green Tribunal and State Pollution Control Board have expressed dissatisfaction in the source-level waste management initiative taken up by the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
An official said that the NGT and PCB have expressed dissatisfaction and decentralised waste plants are the only solution to prevent the widespread pollution happening to the water bodies in the state capital.
