Court directive to add to Kochi Corporation’s Brahmapuram biomining costs

NIT-C had estimated the total remaining legacy waste, including the capped waste, at 3.22 lakh tonnes.

The Kochi Corporation will have to biomine an additional 1.26 lakh tonnes of scientifically capped legacy waste, further adding to its financial burden.

This follows a direction issued by Kerala High Court judges P. Gopinath and Bechu Kurian Thomas during a visit to the Brahmapuram waste treatment plant last month, asking the civic body to include the scientifically capped legacy waste in the biomining process as well. The High Court has been closely monitoring activities at Brahmapuram since a major fire broke out in heaps of plastic waste in 2023 and continued for nearly a fortnight.

Earlier this year, the National Institute of Technology-Calicut (NIT-C) submitted a report to the Corporation estimating the total remaining legacy waste at 3.22 lakh metric tonnes, including the scientifically capped waste. The Corporation had decided not to disturb the capped waste and instead carry out biomining of the remaining 1.96 lakh tonnes at a negotiated rate of ₹1,672 per metric tonne, amounting to ₹37 crore. However, the cost may now have to be recalculated following the directive to include the capped waste as well.

“We will take up the matter with Bhumi Green Energy, the agency entrusted with biomining, once we receive a report on the judges’ visit. Thereafter, we will discuss other aspects, including how long it will take to cover the capped area,” said Mayor V.K. Minimol.

The Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had earlier locked horns with the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) over the supplementary agreement extending Bhumi Green Energy’s biomining contract without inviting fresh tenders. The agency is already engaged in the work. However, the UDF claimed that intense negotiations had helped bring down the biomining rate by ₹18 per tonne from the previously fixed ₹1,690, saving the Corporation around ₹60 lakh.

“Our position all along has been that there is no need to touch the already scientifically capped legacy waste. We have made it clear in the council as well. It will be an additional burden on the Corporation,” said V.A. Sreejith, LDF parliamentary party leader.

Former Mayor M. Anilkumar had, at a press conference in January, warned the UDF-led governing committee of the Kochi Corporation against overspending at Brahmapuram and overestimating the quantity of waste to be treated there, thereby paving the way for corruption. “Whatever more needs to be done should be done, but taxpayers’ money should not be wasted needlessly,” he had said, referring to the Mayor’s statement that Brahmapuram required new projects to improve its condition.

The Corporation had originally signed an agreement with Bhumi Green Energy on November 4, 2023, to biomine 7 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste within 16 months. The contract, initially scheduled to end on March 3, 2025, was later extended by eight months, until November 30, 2025.