Monday, Jun 24, 2002
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Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram
By T. Nandakumar
The UDF council party leadership has demanded a review of the terms of the agreement, which was finalised by the previous LDF regime. They have also urged the Corporation for legal action against the Poabs group. The Opposition has decided to call for a special council meeting to discuss the issue. The UDF council party leader, K. Maheswaran Nair, said the terms would have to be renegotiated in the light of the standoff between the local body and its BOT partner. The UDF leaders say the episode is a direct consequence of finalising the pact without adequate transparency. The Government had to step in to settle the issue after the Poabs Group notified the Corporation last Monday that it would not accept fresh garbage loads. The plant operators were demanding Government support to market the biofertilizer, which is a bye product of the garbage treatment plant. The Corporation has accused the Poabs group of contractual violation in refusing to accept garbage. The Poabs group, in turn, argues that the Government had gone back on its commitment to purchase the manure for departments and Government agencies. At a meeting convened by the Government on Saturday, it was decided that the Poabs product would be subjected to scientific analysis by the Kerala Agricultural University. Based on the results, Government agencies would consider purchasing the fertilizer. Following the decision, the Poabs group agreed to take a limited load of garbage from the city. Corporation councillors allege that the whole incident was engineered to exert pressure on the Government and the local body. They point out that under the BOT agreement for the project, the operators are solely responsible for marketing the product. Opposition leaders allege that the ruling LDF had played along with the plant operators but the LDF avers that the Government cannot wash its hands off the issue. Previous efforts by the Corporation to get the Agriculture Department to purchase the manure had failed, reportedly because of the inflexible stand adopted by officials. Corporation sources said the department was not willing to procure the manure even for projects funded by the Corporation. They point out that several agricultural schemes in the outlying wards had to languish because department officials were not prepared to utilise the funds for purchase of manure from the Vilappil plant. There are allegations that the officials are loathe to displace established suppliers who hand out liberal amounts as commission. The Agriculture Department, however, maintains that it cannot accord priority to a private company when the public sector Agro Industries Corporation was willing to supply the same fertilizer at lower prices. The Poabs Green manure costs Rs.4.50 per kg against Rs.3.50 for that supplied by the Agro Industries Corporation. Corporation officials said the Poabs group had resorted to pressure tactics realising that the local body could ill-afford a prolonged legal battle. A section of councillors are of the view that the whole episode was stage-managed with the tacit backing of vested interests in both the LDF and UDF.
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