Kochi: Kochi corporation has decided to appoint International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for executing the solar city project. The local body has informed that it will hold preliminary discussions with ICLEI representatives in a month.

The aim of the project is to promote the use of renewable energy in urban areas. Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi were identified as suitable regions for implementing the project.

High Levels of Radiation Suspected In Several Areas

Kochi: In the wake of increasing number of complaints of high-level radiation from mobile phone towers, the government has finally decided to conduct a radiation intensity mapping in the city to identify areas where the radiation is above permissible limits. The Kerala State Council for Science and Technology has appointed the state wing of the Swadeshi Science Movement to conduct the ‘Mapping of intensity of electromagnetic fields in Kochi’. The mapping will cover the entire area under the Kochi corporation.

Delay in completion of port road connectivity (PRC) projects and loss of toll revenue had resulted in a loss of around Rs 873.85 crore to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), said the C

Plans are afoot to set up twin facilities for the scientific treatment and disposal of biomedical waste in the city.

Despite being a hub of health care facilities (HCFs) generating increasingly large quantities of biomedical waste, Kochi does not have a dedicated treatment and disposal facility. The city now depends on the one run by IMAGE (Indian Medical Association Goes Eco-friendly) at Palakkad.
At present, the Common Biomedical Waste Treatment and Disposal Facility set up by the Kerala chapter of IMA in 2003 handles the biomedical waste generated by its member HCFs across the State.

Kochiites run short of green shade as Sun spews fire

More than 1,400 trees on public land in Ernakulam have been chopped down over the last one year. But the actual loss would be double the figure because the Social Forestry wing of the Forest Department has data only for tree-felling requests officially submitted as per a government order on February 10, 2010.

To Appoint An Agency To Prepare Detailed Project Report

The cash-strapped Kochi corporation is planning to appoint an agency for preparing the detailed project report (DPR) for executing the solar city project. With the local body paying an annual electricity bill of about Rs 9 crore to KSEB, it is keen on starting the project in the current fiscal. The DPR is expected to cost Rs 10 lakh, which will be funded by the Centre.

Uncovered vehicles transporting solid waste are a common sight in Kochi even as norms for collecting and disposing waste are continuously being flouted in many parts of the city.

Despite Corporation authorities giving an assurance in December last year that 40 fully automated pickup vehicles for collecting waste would ply in the city by March, the waste management system still remains the same.

Even as Thrikkakara attracts more people on account of its rising profile as the Information Technology hub, the municipal authorities are grappling with rising solid waste generation it entails.

However, the municipal authorities are talking in different voices when it comes to waste management, which was visible during the recent Budget.
In the introductory remarks to the Budget, municipal chairman P.I. Mohammadali expressed hope of getting a solid waste treatment plant off the block during the 2013-14 fiscal itself.

SmartCity Kochi has failed to secure environment clearance within 45 days as declared by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on January 31. The company has not even filed a fresh application for environment clearance.

The Hindu had reported on January 30 that the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) had deferred its recommendation for environmental clearance for the first phase of the project.

An acute scarcity of fresh water is staring the district in the face, according to the results of a monthly study conducted by the district groundwater department.

The study, which assessed the water level in 63 observation wells, indicates that the failure of monsoon and overall rainfall deficit has led to an alarming depletion in the groundwater table in the district. V. Prasannan, district officer, Groundwater Department, said over the past month the groundwater table at many points in the district had dropped by more than a metre.