Parents and alumni oppose plan for waste plant on Thiruvananthapuram Sainik School campus

Anger is rising over a plan by the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation to build a waste-to-energy plant on the campus of Sainik School in Kazhakuttam. The civic body wants to use 20 acres of land inside the school. Mayor V.V. Rajesh visited the school on Wednesday to check if the plan is practical.

Concerns

The school is home to about 600 cadets and nearly 300 staff members along with their families. Parents are shocked because the land belongs to a residential educational institution under the Ministry of Defence. The school has trained around 900 officers for the nation's armed forces. Opponents of the plan say the plant will pollute the air and groundwater, bring flies and mosquitoes, and create heavy traffic noise from garbage trucks. Parent Banarji Bhaskaran notes that Kazhakuttam is a fast-developing area with many IT parks, hospitals, and schools, and warns that waste trucks will also create security risks.

Context

Waste-to-energy plants are often proposed by urban local bodies to manage mounting city garbage, but finding suitable land in densely populated areas remains a major challenge. Defence land and educational campuses are strictly protected, making proposals for commercial or industrial use on such properties rare and controversial.