Plant will be set up only after environmental impact study: Min

Thiruvananthapuram: The Peringamala

waste-to-energy

plant will be set up only after conducting an environmental impact study. All the norms of the pollution control board and the clearances of forest and environment departments will be obtained before setting up the plant, said local self-government minister A C Moideen in the Assembly. The minister was replying to submissions by MLAs D K Murali and K S Sabarinadhan.

The agencies for setting up the plant will be selected only through global tenders and the expertise of the company in setting up an environmental-friendly plant will be a major criterion for selecting the agencies.

The government is planning to come up with more such plants which are environment friendly. Also, people will be made aware on how waste can be treated with minimal impact on the environment. The first such plant is coming up at Kozhikode and with the commissioning of this plant the fears of the people can be averted, said the minister who promised to visit

Peringamala

soon.

However, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said the residents of Peringamala fear that if the plant comes up there it will cause health problems and hence the government should conduct a detailed study before setting up the plant.

Chennithala said that the government chose land which is ecologically fragile and people fear that the entire region will be destroyed. To this, the minister replied that the plant will be using the most modern technology which has been successfully implemented in several countries and hence there was no need for any concern on this. The government has found that 15 acres belonging to the agricultural department is suitable for the plant and here the waste treatment will be used to generate power.

The solid waste collected from the corporation wards will be transported to the plant in closed containers and will be treated in a scientific manner to generate power. The plant will be beneficial for Attingal, Nedumangad, Neyyttinkara and Varkala municipal corporations and Thiruvananthapuram city corporation.

The government has also decided to constitute an expert committee to monitor the functioning of the plant. There is no basis for the concern that the plant is a threat for the biodiversity in Agasthyar hills. The government is committed to address the fears of the people here for which awareness campaigns will be initiated, said Moideen.


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