Brahmapuram legacy waste: Row over biomining deal

Kochi: A supplementary agreement signed between Kochi corporation and a private firm for biomining the remaining legacy waste at Brahmapuram started a row. According to opposition councillors, the agreement was signed by flouting norms as it was done after the deed expired.Opposition LDF challenged the signing of the agreement with Bhumi Green Energy, a firm that already bio-mined around 7 lakh tonnes of legacy waste at Brahmapuram, citing that a tender should have been invited before awarding the work. They said variations in the quantum of legacy waste were yet to be processed when the agreement was signed.Though it was signed a couple of months ago, the quantity of waste was scientifically assessed only later.

Kozhikode National Institute of Technology (NIT) submitted a report to corporation last week pegging the total legacy waste at 3.22 lakh metric tonnes, including scientifically capped waste. Since corporation decided not to disturb the capped waste, 1.96 lakh tonnes remain to be bio-mined at a negotiated rate of Rs 1,672 per metric tonne, amounting to Rs 37 crore.LDF parliamentary party leader V A Sreejith alleged corruption in the deal and the hasty way the finance committee signed the supplementary agreement attests to the corruption charges.

The agreement is not legally valid as the original agreement expired in Nov 2025.“The matter, originally included in the agenda of the council meeting on Jan 27, was to be returned for consideration after NIT submitted its report. Instead, a supplementary agreement was signed at an emergency finance committee meeting on March 13. Moreover, there were variations in the estimated quantum of waste, which was cited as 1.43 lakh metric tonnes in Jan and 1.96 lakh tonnes in June, while the excess waste bio-mined also varied from around 15,500 metric tonnes to 25,000 metric tonnes,” Sreejith said.BJP councillor Priya Prashanth also alleged irregularities in the deal.Mayor V K Minimol said the agreement was concluded swiftly considering various factors like upcoming assembly election notification and monsoon. She said corporation will pay for only the actual quantity of waste bio-mined and not the estimated quantity.