Kothi, Avikkal STP projects dropped; new plant to come up at West Hill

In a landmark move, a special council of the Kozhikode Corporation on July 29 (Monday) decided to relocate the site of two proposed sewage treatment plants (STPs) at Kothi and Avikkal Thodu to a plot owned by the civic body in West Hill industrial estate. The decision was taken following a meeting chaired by District Collector Snehil Kumar Singh on July 19, where the idea was mooted and later passed at the AMRUT Core Committee meeting on July 23.

The Corporation struggled to resolve the dispute over the two STPs, as construction had stalled owing to public outrage and High Court interventions. Deputy Mayor C.P. Musafar Ahamed proposed relocating the sites to the industrial estate, which addressed previous concerns such as high population density and environmental pollution.

The council on Monday passed five separate resolutions related to the two STPs, which will now be combined to a single STP.

Unable to complete the project within the term of AMRUT-1, which ended on March 31, 2023, the Corporation has included it in AMRUT 2.0. Since a sum of ₹133.16 crore has been allocated for the project, the Corporation is eager to complete it within budget.

The work contract for the networking of the two STPs, known as ‘Sewage System in Zone A - Package A and Package B,’ was awarded to a Ahmedabad-based Nasit Infrastructures. Though the company faced technical issues and the existing contract lapsed, the Corporation decided to extend the contract for the single STP in West Hill, provided the work stays within the allocated budget.

Seemak Hitech Products, the company that was initially awarded the contract for constructing the plants, had backed out after the civic body refused to meet its demand for additional funds. As a result, the AMRUT Core Committee has decided to issue a fresh tender and prepare a new detailed project report (DPR). The Corporation had earlier planned to rope in the Kerala Water Authority to prepare the DPR. However, the agency declined owing to delays in completing the DPR for the STP at Sarovaram, and taking on additional work would further postpone the project.

On the other hand, the resource recovery facility initially planned for the STP site at West Hill will now be constructed at the site earlier identified for the STP at Avikkal Thodu.