KOCHI: The city corporation council meeting, on Thursday, witnessed both the ruling front and opposition blaming each other for poor waste management at Brahmapuram waste plant and recurring fires at the place.LDF councillors blamed the UDF council stating that inefficiency on the part of the ruling front led to frequent fires at the plant and have sought immediate action.UDF councillors retorted that the issue in Brahmapuram is decades old and UDF alone could not be blamed.Local self-government minister A C Moideen will visit the plant on Sunday to review its functioning.“Recurring fire outbreaks at the plant have been reported since 2013. Every time during a fire, earth is dumped on the simmering waste. An inquiry should be conducted into the recurring fire incidents at the plant,” said Moolamkuzhy councillor P S Prakash.Opposition leader in the council K J Antony said that if the local body fails to convince National Green Tribunal (NGT) team which is expected to visit Brahmapuram plant next week that the council has taken steps to address waste and allied issues, the corporation would have to face the consequences.“Machineries and surveillance cameras at the plant are not functioning. At the meeting convened by minister Moideen on Wednesday, environmentalists said that pipelines have been laid to Kadambrayar from the plant to discharge leachate. If NGT asks us to stop dumping waste in Brahmapuram , the then corporation and neighbouring local bodies would suffer a lot,” Antony said.Congress councillor K R Premkumar also backed Antony over this.“There is laxity on the part of corporation since 2005. When fire was reported on January 1, district administration officials, including district collector K Mohammed Y Safirulla, visited the spot. But the mayor failed to visit the plant. If it was a deliberate action, it is not acceptable. The corporation is still groping in darkness over solving the issue over treating waste in the plant,” he said.Councillor Chandran said that the local body had earmarked Rs 1 crore in 2016-17 budget for setting up a leachate plant at Brahmapuram. But the amount got lapsed.“Service of more people is required to remove plastic waste from the plant. Currently, only one contractor has been engaged in removing waste. Around 150 tonnes of plastic waste reach the plant every day. But only 500kg waste is being removed from the plant daily,” he said.Standing committee chairperson V K Minimol said that setting up a leachate plant at Brahmapuram would save the Kadambrayar.

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