Waste management bill of Kochi Corporation soars past ₹32 crore after Brahmapuram fire

The Kochi Corporation’s annual expenditure on waste management – including both biodegradable and non-biodegradable – has soared to over ₹32 crore from less than ₹10 crore in the years preceding the devastating Brahmapuram fire of 2023. The figure, however, is expected to ease somewhat with the commissioning of the new Compressed Biogas (CBG) plant set up by BPCL-KR at Brahmapuram.

The total bill includes ₹11 crore towards transporting biodegradable waste to Brahmapuram, nearly ₹9 crore for treatment at two Black Soldier Fly-based units of 50 tonnes each, charged at ₹2,500 per tonne, and ₹9 crore for plastic waste collection by two agencies. In addition, ₹3.75 crore was spent on subsidised collection of sanitary waste treated at Kerala Enviro Infrastructure Limited. While the public pays ₹12 per kg, the Corporation bears an additional ₹30 per kg.

Mayor V.K. Minimol said the CBG plant is expected to offset waste management costs by anywhere between ₹16 lakh and ₹22 lakh a month in terms of biodegradable waste treatment. However, she noted that the Corporation has been left to bear the cost of residues generated by the plant. While she estimated residues at 20% of the waste treated, BPCL-KR sources pegged it at just 2%.

Token allocation

“We have no clarity on how much it will cost, which is why we have made a token allocation of ₹15 crore in the budget. We have asked the company engaged in biomining of legacy waste at Brahmapuram to submit a project proposal after they volunteered to treat the rejects. We have already conveyed to the Local Self-Governments Minister that the treatment of rejects should not become another burden on the Corporation,” Ms. Minimol said.

The inflated waste management bill has become a point of contention between the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) and the opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) during the Corporation’s budget session.

LDF parliamentary party leader V.A. Sreejith argued that while ₹40 crore was allocated for two new waste treatment plants, the budget lacked proposals for generating revenue from waste in the long run. UDF councillor and health standing committee member Henry Austin countered by citing the inflated waste management bills during the last two years of the LDF council, questioning what measures they had taken to generate revenue from waste during their tenure. “Why did the Brahmapuram master plan prepared by the LDF not include a single project for revenue generation from waste?” he asked.