The grace period of 30 days granted by Kozhikode Corporation to Zonta Infratech, the company which is carrying out biomining and capping activities at the Nezilianparamba waste management plant, to complete the tasks assigned to it, reportedly expired on April 30. . , the work has not been completed anywhere and the corporation has not discussed further extension of the contract so far.
The corporation had extended the contract four times, with Zonta Infratech the first in 2019. The agreement was to perform biomining and capping on 6.5 acres of land to pave way for a proposed waste-to-energy plant. , The company had cited its inability to perform operations due to the pandemic as the reason for seeking the extension. However, it could not make much progress even after the lockdown was lifted and the pandemic subsided. The corporation has already paid ₹3.46 crore out of the contract amount of ₹7.77 crore to Zonta Infratech.
“We have checked every part of the plant and could find that more than 25% work has not been completed. But the corporation claims that 80% work has been completed,” said KC Sobhita, leader of opposition in the corporation .
The corporation council had on March 30 decided to allow the company to complete the work by April 30 after the company sought the remaining funds from the corporation amid stiff opposition from the opposition. “This is yet another excuse to make full payment to the company despite failing to comply with the conditions,” alleged Ms. Sobhita.
On the other hand, the chairperson of the health standing committee of the corporation, S. Jayashree claimed that replacing Zonta Infratech at this point would hamper all the progress made so far. “Biomining and capping cannot be done during the rains. If we pull out of Zonta Infratech now, we will not be able to take advantage of the favorable weather in May.” Ms. Jayashree also clarified that the grace period given to the company was for 30 working days instead of 30 days from the date of issue.
“They are working round the clock and at maximum strength. We expect that they will achieve the target within the allotted time which ends during mid-May,” she said. Ms Jayashree said a technical committee formed to assess the progress of the works would visit Nazilianparamba soon. and further action will be taken on the basis of the report of the committee.