The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has sought explanation from the Kerala government and the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (PCB) over the recent fire breakout at the Kozhikode Corporation’s waste management plant at West Hill. The Principal Bench of the tribunal, having registered the case suo motu based on media reports on the allegation of a conspiracy by the Corporation behind the incident held a physical hearing on the case in Delhi on Thursday in which the respondents were asked to attend. The State has sought an explanation from the Corporation too.
The fire broke out on October 8 and a large part of the road sweep that was collected at the material collection facility at West Hill as part of the Malinya Muktha Navakeralam project on October 1 and 2 and the daily collection by the Haritha Karma Sena had burnt down. A huge part of the city had been covered in smoke throughout the day, especially the coastal residential areas close to the unit.
Opposition leader K.C.Shobhita had alleged that the Corporation authorities might have set the unit on fire as the recycling activity was not happening there for a long time and the quantity of waste in the yard was beyond manageable limit. The recycling had stopped six months ago and the power connection to the unit had been severed for two months, ruling out any chances of a short circuit.
Incidentally, the Vellayil police investigating the case based on a complaint registered by Corporation Secretary K.U. Bini have not been able to come up with any clues regarding the cause of the fire. The Fire department had conducted several rounds of forensic investigation to find the source of the fire, but failed.
The NGT had imposed a penalty of ₹100 crore on the Kochi Corporation after the massive fire at the Brahmapuram waste management plant in Kochi recently.
