Amid protests against the Kozhikode Corporation’s move to establish a sewage treatment plant (STP) in the West Hill division (Ward 73), District Collector Snehil Kumar Singh has directed officials to initiate steps to obtain technical sanction for the project.

Mr. Singh issued the direction at a recent meeting attended by officials from the Kozhikode Corporation, District Suchitwa Mission, State Pollution Control Board, and the Local Self-Government department.

Earlier, residents under the aegis of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Protection Committee came out against the civic body’s plan to set up the plant in the Shanti Nagar colony area. The committee said the move to shift the STP— abandoned in areas such as Avikkal following strong public opposition— to Shanti Nagar, where hundreds of ordinary families, including Scheduled Caste residents, live, amounted to a violation of constitutional rights.

Reacting to the decision to obtain technical sanction, Satheesh Parannur, patron of the committee, said the project was “illegal” and should not be implemented. “We will oppose the project both legally and through strong public protests. The civic body should not turn Scheduled Caste settlements into a dumping yard. It should withdraw its move to establish the plant in a residential area and relocate it elsewhere,” Mr. Parannur said.

Recently, the Shanti Nagar Residents Association has submitted a complaint to Corporation secretary N.K. Hareesh regarding the construction of the STP.

West Hill Ward councillor K. Saritha also said the Corporation had not yet revealed the full details of the project. Ms. Saritha said that despite repeated demands, the detailed project report (DPR) had still not been made available even to her.

She also expressed doubts over how the STP was proposed to operate. The councillor said there was no clear answer to the question of whether the treated water would be discharged into the sea. “We do not agree with releasing it into the sea,” she said.

At the meeting, the District Collector also directed the Corporation to initiate tender proceedings to appoint a new contractor in place of the one responsible for the faulty operation of the STP at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital and to take action against the erring contractor.

He also directed the civic body to expedite follow-up procedures for the Sarovaram STP, which has received construction approval.