Kerala - Kochi   

`Mayors want metering of public water taps'

Staff Reporter

Civic bodies incur huge sum as water charges

KOCHI: Even before the Asian Development Bank insisting on metering the water supplied through public taps, the Mayors of Corporations had raised such a demand, said C.K. Manisankar, Deputy Mayor of Kochi Corporation, on Tuesday.

Replying to a debate in the Corporation council on Tuesday, Mr. Manisankar said that the civic bodies were made to pay huge amounts to the Kerala Water Authority as water charges on account of the water supplied through public taps.

There were also some disputes between the Kerala Water Authority and the Corporation over the amount due to it, he said.

On a question from A.B. Sabu on the proposed decentralised waste treatment plants, Mr. Manisankar said that the Corporation would convene meetings on March 7 and 8 to finalise the implementation of the projects.

Construction delayed

The construction of the solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram was delayed as residents of the area raised obstructions along the road to the site of the project, he said.

Corporation councillors C.K. Gopalan, T.J. Vinod, N. Venugopal, M. Anilkumar, K.R. Premkumar, E.M. Sunilkumar and V.J. Hyscinth took part in the discussion.

NOC denied

Meanwhile, the Vadavukode-Puthencruz village panchayat decided not to renew the No-Objection Certificate (NoC) it issued for the solid waste treatment plant of the Kochi Corporation. A case challenging the Kerala High Court order permitting the Kochi Corporation to dump waste at Brahmapuram is pending before the Supreme Court.

The panchayat committee also took into consideration a mass petition submitted by the residents of the area against allowing the waste treatment plant there, said K.K. Johnny, panchayat president.

Moreover, the Smart City project and the Kadamparayar tourism project were coming up near the site.

The construction of the plant there would affect the development of the area. Hence, the decision not to renew the NoC, he said.

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