Kochi Corporation to Limit Biomedical Waste Subsidy to Select Categories
Kochi Corporation will restrict its biomedical waste subsidy to select eligible categories, with revised per-kilogram rates coming into force this month.
Subsidised biomedical waste collection in the Kochi Corporation is set to be narrowed to select eligible categories, ending the universal subsidy that has applied until now. The revised arrangement is scheduled to take effect later this month.
Under the new rates, all categories except those exempted will pay ₹20 per kilogram plus GST, with the subsidised rate fixed at ₹12 per kilogram. The Corporation's subsidy component will thus fall to ₹8 per kilogram, down from ₹28 until July. Commercial establishments will be charged ₹45 per kilogram.
Since last month, Success Projects, a subsidiary of Raidco Kerala Limited, which runs two biomedical waste incinerators at Brahmapuram, has been the sole agency collecting such waste. Private operators Aakri and Suchigo are no longer part of the Corporation's service network, and incineration at Kerala Enviro Infrastructure Limited (KEIL) in Ambalamugal has also stopped. The Corporation had been paying ₹38 per kilogram plus GST for treatment at KEIL, which had sought a further increase after September.
A system to verify subsidy applications from eligible categories is yet to be put in place. Health standing committee chairperson Seena Gokulan said the Left Democratic Front had disrupted the last council meeting before the matter could be taken up. No subsidy applications have been received so far, she said, adding that the plan is to limit the benefit to groups such as the bedridden, the extremely poor, patients in palliative care, and those certified by medical professionals.
Doorstep collection
The Corporation has asked Success Projects to begin doorstep collection instead of ward-level drives, which involved collection from designated points. Those drives, introduced earlier to clear backlogs, are now limited to requests from councillors, Ms. Gokulan said, citing the risk of biomedical waste being dumped at such points from outside Corporation limits.
Company sources said they hoped to receive a comprehensive ward-level list of eligible beneficiaries before moving to non-subsidised collection. Waste is currently being collected at the subsidised rate. They said private operators were charging inflated rates of up to ₹55 per kilogram even from those registered with the Corporation, leaving the company to face blame. Once the beneficiary list is finalised, collection will follow a circle-wise calendar and be carried out strictly through the My Kochi application, they added, noting that neighbouring municipalities have no subsidised system and private operators charge at will.
LDF parliamentary party leader V.A. Sreejith alleged that collection remains disrupted and that the engaged company lacks adequate infrastructure, forcing the Corporation to allot its own vehicles. He accused the UDF council of acting arrogantly, emboldened by its majority.