The solid state of matter

KOCHI: The tender for the new solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram will be floated this week. “The procedures for floating the tender are nearing completion and we have been told that the tender will be floated by the end of this week,” said Mayor Tony Chammany.The new plant will be set up on 40-acres of land of the total 100 acres owned by the Corporation at Brahmapuram. In January, the state government had given its nod for the construction of a new solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram.Apart from the new plant, it has also been decided to set up a new industrial unit at Brahmapuram which will benefit the residents of the area. There are also reports that the Corporation’s ‘Suchitwa Mission’ has suggested the new plant, with a capacity to treat 500 tonnes of waste per day, at Brahmapuram should work on a German technology.Once constructed, the new plant is expected to cater to the solid waste treatment requirements of Kochi as well as the neighbouring municipalities.The facility is among the three such projects being planned by the government across the state.However, the decision to construct a new plant at Brahmapuram has been drawing stiff opposition from the residents of the nearby panchayats for some time now.Meanwhile, a meeting to decide on the other aspects of solid waste management and the water woes of the city will be convened at the Government Guest House on Monday.The high-level meeting will be attended by Health Minister V S Sivakumar, Water Resources Minister P J Joseph, Urban Affairs Minister Manjalamkuzhi Ali and various department heads.