New Delhi: After a fire at a waste processing plant in Kochi raged on for about two weeks this month, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the Kerala government, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, of “bending the rules” to award the biomining contract to the company that’s allegedly responsible for lapses that led to the fire.
This company, the BJP has claimed, is connected to the families of leaders of both the state’s major political alliances — the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF).
Former Union environment minister and BJP Kerala in-charge Prakash Javadekar told reporters Wednesday that the state did not adhere to the solid waste management guidelines notified by the Union government in 2016, and that this had led to the landfill fire.
The fire had begun on 2 March at the 110-acre open dumping yard in the city’s Brahmapuram area and generated heavy air pollution across Kochi with toxic fumes from burning plastic waste. It was extinguished after the collaborative efforts of the Kerala Fire and Rescue Services, the Navy and the Air Force.
The National Green Tribunal has slapped an environmental penalty of Rs 100 crore on the Kochi Municipal Corporation for violating the solid waste management guidelines, and the Kerala High Court took note of the city administration’s failure to control the blaze.
Vijayan has announced a comprehensive probe into the incident.
According to the BJP, the Kerala government had awarded a biomining contract of Rs 54 crore to the private firm Zonta Infratech because its owner is the son-in-law of former LDF convener and senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Vaikom Viswan, while the subcontractor is the son-in-law of UDF leader N. Venugopal.
The BJP further alleged that Zonta Infratech “gave the contract to another company for Rs 22 crore and earned direct profits of Rs 32 crore without doing anything”.
ThePrint contacted Viswan and Venugopal over phone with queries on the matter, but was yet to receive a response when this article was published. It will be updated when a response is received.
CPI(M) leader K.P. Anil Kumar told ThePrint that “the BJP is used to making allegations about Kerala”, and said out that Zonta Infratech is also undertaking waste management work in Bangalore, the capital of BJP-ruled Karnataka.
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‘We want a CBI inquiry’
Javadekar alleged Wednesday that “CM Vijayan met the owners of Zonta Infratech and enabled the changing of rules to award them the contract”, even though the company’s previous contracts in Coonoor and Kollam had been cancelled.
“It’s a combined UDF-LDF scam, just like their alliance in Tripura. CM Vijayan went to Europe and met them (the owners of Zonta Infratech). It is a failure of the state government and we demand a CBI inquiry. There is no waste plant, no machinery but only expenditure,” he said.
The BJP has also said the fire at Kochi could be an act of sabotage and should be investigated properly.
Calling the fire “a man-made disaster”, Minister of State and BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala V. Muraleedharan tweeted that the “tacit deal” had resulted in negligence and a deadly fire, and turned Kochi into a gas chamber.
The Congress has also alleged that Vijayan has connections with the biomining firm. Leader of the Opposition V.D. Sateesan last week accused the state government of being engaged in corrupt practices.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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