The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the Pollution Control Board (PCB) experts to inspect the Vilappilsala waste treatment plant once again and assess the state of affairs, including the feasibility of having such a unit. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice K Vinod Chandran issued the order while considering the petition filed by Thiruvananthapuram Corporation seeking police protection to run the plant. The Bench directed that during the inspection, the representatives of the Corporation, especially the health officer and the health inspector, should be present to apprise the PCB team regarding the steps that had been taken by them and also the machinery which was brought to the plant. The president and secretary of the Panchayat should also be present. The Panchayat has submitted a memo of instructions to be considered by the team while inspecting the plant. Counsel for the Corporation N Nandakumara Menon submitted that the PCB had visited the spot and submitted a report more than a year ago indicating what steps had to be taken by the Corporation to curb the menace. The Court also granted permission to submit its suggestions before the PCB. The report by the PCB had pointed out that the capacity of the plant was much lesser than the garbage collected and hence this must be reduced. The plant has a capacity of 90 tonnes, but the garbage being accumulated in the plant is about 203 tonnes per day. It also stated that the waste materials dumped in the plant were polluting the Karamana river as well as the water sources in the area. According to the Corporation, subsequent to the PCB report, they were not allowed to take any steps suggested, except removing the solid waste which was dumped in the site. Following the Court directive, the Corporation had also transported the machinery for installing a leachate treatment unit. The garbage was being processed in the unit till December 21, 2011, but this was stopped following public protests. The crisis has led to the piling up of waste in the city, the Corporation said. A resident of the Vilappil Panchayat submitted that during the monsoon, the solid waste which was filled in the pits and closed with the soil would generate infectious fluids from the ground. It will contaminate the water sources, especially the drinking water available for the residents of the locality. The Court also directed the state to give proper protection and police assistance for the inspection by PCB team. Meanwhile, the Bench dismissed a petition filed by one C L Anto, who claimed to be an expert in the field of solid waste treatment to get impleaded in the case. “We are concerned with the security of the officials of the Corporation to run the unit and not for a new project. The so-called expertise of the petitioner need not be considered in the issue,” the Bench observed.