KOCHI: Kochi corporation councillors registered strong opposition against the state government’s move to lease out 22 acres owned by the local body at Brahmapuram to a private firm for setting up a waste to energy plant. During the council meeting held on Thursday, all opposition councillors, including the UDF and BJP, registered their dissent over the proposal.
At the same time, the ruling LDF demanded that the project should be implemented at any cost. “The move by the government to lease out the land owned by the local body to a private firm is deplorable. The UDF can’t approve it. There is no clarity regarding the proposed waste to energy project,” said opposition leader Antony Kureethra.
According to Henry Austin, deputy leader of UDF parliamentary party in the corporation, there are no details regarding the waste to energy plant available with the corporation. “The agreement for leasing out the land to KSIDC is not there in the corporation office. There are no documents available at the office pertaining to subleasing the land to a private firm for setting up a waste to energy plant. So, we are discussing the issue without going through any of the documents,” Austin said. “The state government and KSIDC have already closed the deal with the private firm.
After completing all the formalities, now they are seeking the nod from the council. How can we give approval for a project, the details of which we are unaware of,” Austin asked. He asked whether there is any scope for change in the agreement and the decision to lease out the corporation’s land. “If there is no scope for any change, there is no meaning in the councillors discussing the issue,” he said.
Mayor M Anilkumar said that the conditions in the agreement as well as the decision to lease out the land to KSIDC can’t be rolled back. “There are no documents pertaining to the project and the lease agreement available at the corporation office now. All such documents are under the perusal of the state government. We will ask the government to hand over the files regarding the project. Then, we can check if there are any conditions which adversely affect the interests of the corporation,” the mayor said. “I assure you that if any private firm mortgage the property, it will be done only after getting nod from the corporation council,” he said.
