KOCHI: The UDF-led Thrikkakara municipality has decided to purchase a plot of land having the space required to set up a treatment plant which can solve the mounting waste issue.
The municipality’s advertisement inviting expression of interest for purchase of 5 acres of land in Thrikkakara has elicited response from 12 landowners.
In 2024, Thrikkakara municipality got 50 cents of purambokku land from the revenue department for setting up a waste treatment plant. Later, the civic body also got an additional 8.5 cents of purambokku land for the same purpose.
However, the municipality found the land insufficient to set up an organic waste treatment plant, sewage water treatment plant and faecal sludge treatment plant on the allotted land. The resistance from local people against setting up waste projects near their residential areas forced officials to find an alternative location suitable for the purpose.
“Thrikkakara is one of the thickly populated areas lying close to Kochi city and it is one of the main IT hubs. Considering the amount of waste generated in the area, 50 cents of land is not at all sufficient for setting up a waste treatment plant. That is why the council decided to purchase new land for the purpose.
In order to ensure transparency in procedures, we first gave advertisements and asked interested parties to contact the municipality,” said Rashid Ullampilly, Thrikkakara municipal chairperson. “In response to the advertisement, we got 12 applications. The merits of each application would be considered in the next council meeting”, the chairperson said.