Thiruvananthapuram Corporation has dropped its proposal to establish a compressed biogas plant at Sainik School Kazhakootam after protests by parents, alumni and nearby residents, although the civic body continues to consider a centralised facility elsewhere to manage the capital’s organic waste.
Mayor V V Rajesh told The Times of India that the corporation would not pursue the project at the school for now. “We have no such plans in Kazhakkoottam. We will continue the decentralised plan. However, we are not dropping the centralised treatment plant proposal,” he said.
The proposal had involved a possible allotment of around 20 acres of school land for a waste-to-energy plant to be developed with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL). In a letter dated June 6, 2026, the mayor had requested the Union Ministry of Defence to consider providing the land.
The ministry’s Sainik Schools Cell responded on November 3, informing the mayor that the request had been examined. It said officials from the school and the corporation would carry out a joint field assessment to determine the project’s feasibility. A copy of the communication was sent to the school principal, who was asked to coordinate with corporation officials and give the exercise priority.
The proposal faced strong opposition after a corporation team led by the mayor visited the campus on November 5 to examine the possibility of locating the facility there. Parents, former students and residents questioned the suitability of placing a large waste-processing plant within a residential educational institution.
More than 600 cadets live at the school, according to the report. Parents raised concerns about the movement of garbage vehicles and outside personnel near the campus, as well as possible security implications. They also cited the risk of foul odour, air and water pollution, and increased flies and mosquitoes.
Banarji Bhaskaran, a parent, said the plant could create health problems for students because the school is residential. Manoj P, a former teacher and nearby resident, said local residents would not permit the corporation to establish a waste-treatment facility in the area.
Former students also opposed the proposal, pointing to the institution’s operation under the Defence Ministry since 1962. The school authorities declined to comment, citing defence rules.
The withdrawal leaves the corporation with two linked but separate waste-management challenges: managing opposition to a specific site and developing additional capacity for the city’s organic waste. The civic body has been exploring a centralised waste-processing facility and had earlier considered a BPCL partnership modelled on the compressed biogas plant at Brahmapuram in Kochi.
The mayor’s statement indicates that the corporation will continue with its decentralised waste-management plan while keeping the broader centralised-treatment proposal open. No alternative site or revised implementation timeline was specified in the report.
