KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the State Government and the Vilappil Panchayat president on a petition filed by the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation seeking police protection to resume the functioning of the Solid Waste Treatment Plant at Vilappilsala. A Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice P R Ramachandra Menon issued the notices when the petition filed by Corporation Secretary T Bhaskaran came up for hearing. The court also issued notice to the Samara Samithi representatives. Counsel for the Corporation Advocate N Nandhkumara Menon submitted that the people in the city were bearing the brunt of the developments, with waste disposal not happening for more than one week. According to the petitioner, the Vilappil panchayat had no right to confiscate property and machinery that belonged to the Corporation. “The law and order system has been disturbed under the leadership of the panchayat president, secretary and the Samara Samithi representatives. On December 21, a joint conference was held with the representatives of the panchayat and others. The attitude of the agitators and panchayat representatives has been very defiant. Instead of resolving the crisis, they took the law into their hands and have instigated the people of Vilappil against the Corporation,” the petition pointed out. The plant, the property on which it is built, and all the machinery belong to the Corporation. Vilappil panchayat president Shobhana Kumari has locked the main gate of the plant without any statutory authority. At present, officials and workers are not allowed to go anywhere near the plant. The other works in progress in the plant also have come to a standstill, the petitioner said. “The solid waste accumulated in the city since December 21 has reached an alarming stage. The vehicles of the Corporation carrying garbage are obstructed by miscreants with the full support of the panchayat. If the present situation continues, storing and treating the solid waste accumulated in the city would continue, which could lead to the outbreak of epidemics and other contagious diseases,” the petitioner said. The Corporation had already requested the DGP to provide police protection for the smooth functioning of the plant. But there was no positive steps from the official, the petitioner alleged. The Court adjourned the hearing of the case to January 9.
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