Kochi needs to set up more sewage treatment plants (STPs) to address the issue of illegal dumping of septage into open drains and waterbodies, according to Mayor M. Anilkumar.
Replying to a debate in the council on Monday, Mr. Anilkumar said Corporation councillors shall not oppose the proposals for setting up STPs in the city considering social and health needs of the city.
Currently, the Kochi Corporation can handle only 40 tanker loads of septage a day, he said.
A few councillors had raised the issue of illegal dumping of septage in the council meeting on the day.
Antony Painuthara, a Congress councillor, brought the issue of dumping of waste in Chilavannur Lake. Many tanker lorry owners were fleecing the general public for the collection and transportation of septage, he complained.
R. Ratheesh of the CPI(M) complained that a few tanker lorries, which were registered in the Kochi Corporation for the collection and transportation of septage from households to treatment plants, were emptying waste in public places including waterbodies. The movement of vehicles designated for the transport of waste shall be tracked online to prevent the illegal dumping, he demanded.
The Mayor informed the council that there were no proposals in the files of the Kochi Corporation for the procurement of e-tricycles and tipper lorries.
A proposal for purchase of 237 tricycles and 41 tipper autorickshaws spending ₹5 crore was included in the agenda of the Kochi Corporation council meeting.
The Congress-led opposition members had criticised the agenda stating that it would be a wasteful expenditure as a large number of earlier purchased vehicles were left unused. The UDF councillors had highlighted a reference in the Local Fund Audit report regarding the poor use of vehicles.
Responding to the criticism, Mr. Anilkumar said the proposal was wrongly included in the agenda of the civic body. The proposal for purchasing uniforms for cleaning workers should have been included in the agenda. The purchase of such vehicles will have to be done by the Kerala Solid Waste Management Project, he said. Mr. Anilkumar denied the allegation that most of the earlier procured vehicles were being abandoned.