Row over Murali's threat to close down garbage plant

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JUNE 6. The Opposition UDF staged a walk out from the City Corporation Council today following angry exchanges with the LDF over an official resolution condemning the KPCC president, Mr. K. Muraleedharan's threat to close down the Vilappilsala garbage plant.

Moving the resolution, the Mayor, Prof. J. Chandra, said Mr. Muraleedharan's statement on Tuesday was politically motivated. She termed it as an affront to the city residents and a blatant violation of the directives issued by the Supreme Court and the High Court. The Mayor said Mr. Muraleedharan's statement had exposed the forces trying to torpedo the garbage project.

The resolution said the Corporation was willing to discuss any proposal to resolve the problems faced by the plant. Accusing the Government of failure to check the spread of Weil's disease in several parts of the State, she said Mr. Muraleedharan's stand would only aggravate the problem of garbage accumulation which leads to such diseases. She said the council had a right to know the reaction of the Government to the KPCC president's statement.

Opposing the resolution, the UDF members said it was an attempt to divert public attention from the corruption involved in the project. The Opposition leader, Mr. K. Maheswaran Nair, alleged financial irregularities to the tune of Rs. 1 crore in the purchase of garbage vehicles and bins. He said crores of rupees had been wasted on the project without any tangible result even as the residents of the Vilappil panchayat were subjected to untold hardships caused by pollution.

The Deputy Mayor, Mr. Sujanapriyan, warned that any effort to close down the plant would aggravate the garbage problem in the city. He said the Opposition should help to streamline the project instead of sabotaging it.

The Vallakadavu councillor, Mr. Xavier Lopez (Kerala Congress- J), said the UDF Government was committed to exposing the corruption involved in the setting up of the Vilappil project. He said the resolution was politically motivated.

The Kesavadasapuram member, Mr. Sathyan (CPI-M), said the Opposition had been raising baseless allegations in a bid to disrupt the functioning of the plant. He said the UDF had failed to prove any of the charges levelled against the LDF leaders.

The Peroorkada councillor, Mr. Sudarsanan (Cong-I), said the Corporation had done little to address the pollution problems faced by the residents in the vicinity of the plant. The Thampanoor councillor, Mr. Satish's allegation of corruption related to the project touched off a shouting match between the LDF and Opposition benches.

The chairman of the standing committee on development, Mr. B. Soman, challenged the Opposition to come up with an alternative plan to resolve the garbage problem in the city. As the Mayor announced the debate closed, the UDF members staged a walk out. The resolution was adopted by the council.

Later talking to reporters, the Mayor said the Vilappil garbage plant was the most sophisticated of its kind in the country with adequate safeguards built in. She said the plant would achieve capacity utilisation with the purchase of additional lorries and equipment. She said the Government was liable to provide an alternative proposal if the garbage plant was to be closed down.

The Council adopted a resolution moved by the Town Planning Committee urging the Government to release 43 cents of land in the possession of the Social Welfare Department at the Kumarapuram Junction. The resolution said the land would be utilised for developmental activities. Another resolution decided to update the city map incorporating the new wards annexed from the neighbouring panchayats.

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Section  : Southern States
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