Protest against move to set up waste processing plant on Sainik School campus

Kazhakkuttam Sainik School at Thiruvananthapuram

Resentment is brewing against a move by the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation to set up a waste processing plant on the campus of Sainik School, Kazhakuttam, in the Keralam capital. The civic body is reportedly eyeing 20 acres of land on the vast school campus to set up a waste-to-energy plant. Mayor V.V. Rajesh had visited the school on Wednesday in connection with a feasibility assessment.

The setting up of the proposed plant on land belonging to a residential institution where some 600 cadets and nearly 300 staff members and their families live round the clock has left parents shocked.

Sainik School, Kazhakuttam, is one of the most prestigious institutions of the State that has contributed around 900 officers to the nation’s armed forces, say parents, pointing out that diversion of land belonging to an educational institution under the Ministry of Defence is unacceptable.

According to a communication from the Ministry dated November 3, a letter from Mayor V.V. Rajesh had been received in June this year seeking allotment of 20 acres for establishment of a waste-to-energy plant. Accordingly, it was decided to conduct a joint field assessment by the school authorities and the city Corporation to examine the feasibility of the proposal, and the school Principal was directed to coordinate with the civic body for the same. The Mayor visited the school the very next day the communication was received.

The communication adds that after the exercise, a joint assessment report would be considered by the Ministry for further action.

However, parents of students, staff, and school alumni have come out against the proposal which, they say, will pollute both air and groundwater and pose a threat of the health of the students, a large number of whom are looking to serve the country. Moreover, the school land is not a vacant land -- it is used for training the students in events such as cross-country racing and obstacle course to boost their stamina and endurance. The pervasive stench of garbage will make life very difficult there. The leachate from the waste will also pollute the groundwater. The noise from vehicles transporting waste and the health hazard posed by flies and mosquitoes is unimaginable, say the parents.

Banarji Bhaskaran, a parent, points out that Kazhakuttam, where the school is located, is one of the most thickly populated and rapidly developing parts of the city, with Technopark, Kinfra park, other educational institutions and hospitals located in the area. “The move is inexplicable,” he says, asking which top-notch institutions would set up offices in the vicinity of a waste processing plant.

He also raises security concerns in the institution once vehicles transporting waste start making continuous runs to the campus. Parents say they will raise strong objections to the proposal with support from the school alumni and the local people. The Mayor was unavailable for comments.