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Brahmapuram: A Tragedy That Was Waiting To Happen, Thanks To Mismanagement By Communist Govt

March 18, 2023
Anand Krishna

Recently Kerala’s Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, announced in the state Assembly that a vigilance investigation will be conducted into the fire occurred in Brahmapuram waste plant of Kochi. Additionally, a special police team will investigate the criminal case related to the fire that broke out at the plant, causing the garbage hill to smoulder for 12 days and resulting in a toxic haze over the commercial hub of Kerala.

Social media users expressed their disapproval of the government in relation to an incident, and called for stringent measures to be put in place. They used the hashtag #GodsOwnTrash, which originated from the term “God’s own country,” a popular moniker for the state of Kerala, to highlight their discontent. The netizens accused the CPM government of remaining silent on the issue, and pointed out that not a single leader had spoken out against the lack of proper management.

Even though the fire was doused the smoke surrounding the responsibility for the fire still hangs overhead. The Congress-led Opposition previously criticized Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for not speaking out about the issue despite holding the portfolios of the Pollution Control Board, Environment, and Climate Change. However, in a statement to the Assembly, the Chief Minister announced the appointment of an expert committee to investigate the factors that led to the fire at the Brahmapuram waste plant. 

The Zonta Problem

Biomining is a process that can convert waste materials from landfills into useful resources, which can be beneficial for the environment. The authorities in Kochi began moving the city’s trash to a facility in 2007, leading to the accumulation of a significant amount of legacy waste at Brahmapuram. As a result, biomining became necessary to manage the solid waste at the site, which the state government took over from the Kochi Corporation. Zonta started the biomining process on January 15 and aimed to recover the dumpsite land within 18 months while sorting, collecting, storing, and selling the recoverable items from the legacy waste. The government has reported that 28% of the work has been completed so far.

The entry of Zonta Infratech into the waste management sector has raised questions, with some suggesting that the company was selected without proper scrutiny or justification.

The Zonta company is also spreading its wings across Kerala but the sudden emergence of the company and its ties with the ruling party is slowing coming in to the fore. Zonta Infratech, the company currently under scrutiny for its handling of the Brahmapuram waste treatment plant, has been awarded contracts to handle waste management in three additional cities in Kerala. Despite ongoing allegations and criticism of the company’s activities, it has been tasked with installing a biogas plant in Kollam and setting up waste-to-energy plants in Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram. Experts have pointed to the state’s shift away from successful decentralised waste management policies as a factor in the Brahmapuram controversy, with senior officials and CPM members divided on the issue. The decision to use WTE plants, overseen by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation, has been criticised, with officials suggesting that solid waste management should have been prioritised. 

How Mismanagement By Communist Govt Led To The Fiasco

But, the corporation has been operating the yard without proper authorization since 2010 and has repeatedly violated pollution control regulations, prompting warnings from government agencies and the NGT. However, a massive fire broke out on March 2, 2023, which is believed to be the largest and longest fire in Brahmapuram’s history. It is unclear how much progress Zonta would have made between the government report’s release and the nine-month mark. The site still appears to have heaps of waste that are several years old, indicating that a considerable amount of work remains to be done. The tragedy has raised concerns about the project’s prospects and the effectiveness of biomining. Poor planning, ineffective management, and corruption, which have yet to be substantiated, are reported to be the primary causes of the unfortunate incident.

Although the recent fire at the Brahmapuram garbage dumping yard in Kochi has been extinguished, it has revealed serious mismanagement of waste disposal by the Kochi Corporation. The fire, which started on 2 March 2023, forced firefighting crews to work around the clock to contain the flames, and toxic fumes generated by the fire have caused air quality to deteriorate in Kochi and its surroundings. Despite the government claiming victory against the fire, concerns about the cause of the fire and the potential poisoning of the area remain. Protests have erupted in Kochi due to the poor air quality caused by the fire; the people blame the poor governance by the state government and Cochin corporation for the disaster fire. Reports show that the Air Quality Index has risen to dangerous levels, with locals experiencing respiratory issues and some residents moving out of the city. According to the reports, the Air Quality Index as of Sunday was above 200 and officials in the pollution control board had said that it might cross 300. 

 

Then there are the revelations regarding involvement of CPM leader’s son in law and illegal gratification enjoyed by the party leaders in relations to the waste site. The controversy surrounding the contract of Brahmapuram waste treatment plant has led to a response from CPM leader Vaikom Viswan, who denies having helped his son-in-law secure the contract. Viswan spoke to the media, stating that he did not intervene on behalf of his family and welcomes any investigation into the matter. This comes as allegations have been made concerning the awarding of the bio-mining contract in Brahmapuram to his son-in-law’s company. The former mayor of Kochi, Tony Chammini, has challenged Viswan’s involvement and is considering legal action. 

Swapna Suresh, who is the main accused in the gold smuggling case, has once again accused Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his former principal secretary M Sivasankar of wrongdoing. She took to Facebook to allege that Sivasankar was involved in awarding the contract for the Brahmapuram solid waste processing plant to Zonta Infratech, and that the CM remained silent due to Sivasankar’s involvement. Swapna has also requested that the CM retrieve the mobilisation advance paid to the company and distribute it to the public. In addition to this, she has recently accused the CPM of attempting to bribe her into silence in the gold smuggling case with an offer of Rs 30 crore through an intermediary. https://www.facebook.com/krishnakumarswapna/posts/10161042649090680

A Tragedy That Was Waiting To Happen

Despite the visible pollution crisis in Kochi, the Pinarayi government in Kerala remains in power like modern Nero playing music while the citizenry chokes to death. There are numerous reports suggesting a corruption network between leaders of the communist government and contractors involved with the Brahmapuram plant. The Brahmapuram fire adds to a long list of corruption allegations against the Left in Kerala, including cases related to gold smuggling, SNC-Lavalin, drug smuggling, and terror networks. It is crucial for the people of Kerala to take a strong stance against this corrupt government in order to restore the state to its former status as “God’s own country” instead of the “communists’ own country.”

The committee, which will include technical experts, will recommend measures to prevent such incidents in the future and improve waste management. The investigation will also examine whether the Kochi Municipal Corporation effectively monitored waste management and complied with the Pollution Control Board’s guidelines for running the plant. While the drama of blame game and technical committees continues, the people of Kerala are left with an ineffective administration which cannot even handle waste disposal in the only major metro city in Kerala. 

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