Photo used for illustrative purposes.

Kerala High Court (HC) on Friday suggested the state government explore the possibility of using the garbage pile in the port city of Kochi for the construction of roads.

In March this year, a major fire broke out in the garbage stored in Brahmapuram on the outskirts forcing many to leave the city engulfed in toxic fumes.

Soon the firm contracted to build a waste-to-energy plant there abandoned the project and residents are still struggling with the piling up refuse that stinks the city.

The court, also located in Kochi, initiated suo moto (without a formal complaint from any party) proceedings on March 6 observing that the city had turned into a “gas chamber.”

A special bench of justices Bechu Kurian Thomas and P Gopinath constituted at the request of the state has since been considering issues relating to waste management.

The district authorities informed the court that 700,000 tonnes of legacy waste lying at the Brahmapuram pant site and a socioeconomic health impact assessment was in progress. The court responded that an expert study can be conducted to see if it can be used for the construction of the roads.

The district collector NSK Umesh told the court that there was already a committee, which identified institutions and was preparing questionnaires for a survey.

Additional Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan also appeared online and apprised the court of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited’s proposal to set up a Bio-CNG plant.

The city corporation’s approval is awaited for setting up the black soldier fly technology project within 100 days of handing over the site as the BPCL plant will take time.

Muraleedharan said they had covered the burnt ash at the site using tarpaulin sheets to prevent leakage of toxic substances into the neighbourhood or water bodies.

The Pollution Control Board will conduct samplings from wells in and around Brahmapuram and submit a report to the court to assess water quality.