The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the Kochi Corporation Secretary to inform it whether collection and disposal of septic waste and hotel waste and movement of vehicles carrying waste could be tracked on the My Kochi App developed recently by the Corporation.
Justice Devan Ramachandran, while dealing with the case seeking to prevent flooding of the city, directed the Corporation to ensure that the application functioned without impediments so that the public could post their grievances on the app.
The court also asked the Corporation to verify whether the option for booking septic waste collection was being utilised effectively. The court ordered that if there was no option in the app to track the collection of septic waste and its disposal, the Corporation should suggest whether it could be incorporated in the app.
The Corporation submitted that the app could also be used for swiftly acting to prevent waterlogging. The court asked the counsel for the Corporation to verify the efficacy of the app.
The court directed the civic body to immediately take steps to clean up Punchathodu, particularly in areas near Ward 48, and file a report before a committee headed by the District Collector who should oversee the work and offer every assistance required.
The court ordered that the Corporation with police assistance should devise steps to ensure that there was no further dumping of waste into Punchathodu and that proper monitoring was done, both physically and using CCTV. Swift action should be taken against those dumping waste into the canal, the court said. The Corporation counsel submitted that the Corporation was doing its best to prevent dumping of waste in public and waterbodies.
