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The devastating fire at Kochi’s Brahmapuram waste dumpsite in March 2023 exposed years of failed waste-processing projects and inadequate oversight, a new study has found. While interventions since the fire have improved waste processing and reduced pollution, the study cautioned that the site’s long-term recovery would depend on sustained environmental monitoring and institutional accountability.
The fire, which burned for 12 days and sent dense smoke across the city, exposed the consequences of a waste-management system that repeatedly failed to process garbage scientifically. The Kerala High Court described the situation as a “gas chamber”, prompting judicial intervention and a series of administrative measures.
The study, Brahmapuram Dumpsite and the Crisis of Urban Waste: A Lens into Ecological Resilience and the Efficacy of Public Policy, by Prathibha Ganesan, principal scientist at the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), traced Kochi’s waste-management history through a qualitative, two-phase case study drawing on primary data from 2012 and 2025.
It examined the institutional failures that led to the crisis, the technological interventions introduced in its aftermath and the social and environmental costs borne by communities living near the dumpsite.
According to the study, an estimated 8.6 lakh tonnes of legacy waste had accumulated at Brahmapuram. Approximately 6.5 lakh tonnes had been cleared through biomining by 2025, marking substantial progress in reducing the waste stock. However, the study said the long-term stabilisation of the remaining waste, leachate control, and site restoration remained essential for ecological recovery and community health.
Seena Gokulan, the health standing committee in Cochin Corporation, told TNM that bio-mining was ongoing and expected to finish it by the end of 2026. “The biomining is continuing there, as around 1.5 lakh tonnes of waste need to be removed. The contract with the company carrying out biomining has been extended for another three months. Approximately one month has already passed, and therefore, we expect the biomining process to be completed by the end of this year,” Seena added.
The company carrying out the biomining of legacy waste is Bhumi Green Energy, a Pune-based firm.
Seena also said that no waste or wastewater from the plant was currently flowing into the Kadambrayar River.
“Pollution Control Board (PCB) officials visit the site periodically for inspections. In addition, we have all the necessary certificates issued by the PCB,” she added.
Kochi’s waste-management problems long predate the 2023 fire. During the 1990s, the Kochi Corporation dumped waste in Cheranallur village, but local resistance forced a change. Waste disposal was subsequently shifted to Willingdon Island under an arrangement that stipulated scientific landfilling.
Those safeguards were not adequately followed, and waste accumulated at the site. In 2006, concerns over bird activity near the naval base intensified after a Coast Guard Dornier aircraft suffered a bird strike near INS Garuda. The Navy withdrew permission for waste dumping, leaving garbage piling up on city streets.
Brahmapuram then emerged as the designated dumping site, despite opposition from residents and the Vaduvucode-Puthencruz panchayat. The study recounted how the Corporation, backed by court orders and police protection, moved ahead with waste disposal even though the local community had demanded a treatment plant rather than open dumping.
Hundreds of truckloads of putrefying waste were transported to Brahmapuram, with schools and offices shut to facilitate its transit, the study says.
The decision to establish a waste-processing facility on reclaimed marshland compounded the problem. A Rs 20-crore mechanical compost plant was inaugurated in 2008, but structural defects, financial problems and delays in payments disrupted its operations. An expert inspection by the National Institute of Technology, Kozhikode, in 2009 identified design flaws and sinking foundations.
Only a fraction of the waste was converted into compost, while the remainder continued to accumulate at the site.
Subsequent attempts to address the problem also faltered. A proposed 10 MW waste-to-energy plant, awarded to GJ Eco Power under a public-private partnership, was cancelled in 2020. The biomining contract awarded to Zonta Infratech was later terminated amid allegations of poor performance and inadequate expertise. Later, the contract was given to Bhumi Green Energy.
The study identified repeated failures as evidence of a waste-governance system that relied on short-term interventions without adequate technical scrutiny, monitoring or accountability.
“Thus, the trajectory demonstrates a governance model that is reactive to crises, reliant on judicial interventions, and struggles to manage public-private partnerships,” the study said.
Brahmapuram experienced repeated fires as dry waste accumulated over the years. Excessive plastic waste, the absence of adequate fire-prevention infrastructure and methane accumulation in poorly compacted waste mounds contributed to the risk.
The March 2023 fire exposed the consequences on a city-wide scale. Nearly 200 firefighters and multiple fire units worked to contain the blaze under ‘Operation Safe Breath’. Around 40,000 litres of water per minute were pumped from the Kadambrayar River during firefighting operations, raising concerns about possible leachate contamination.
Residents were advised to remain indoors and use N95 masks. Reported symptoms included breathing difficulties, coughing, wheezing, dizziness and eye irritation. The study also recorded a death in which aggravated asthma was reported.
The National Green Tribunal fined the Kochi Corporation Rs 100 crore, while the Kerala State Pollution Control Board imposed an additional penalty of Rs 1.8 crore for negligence, according to the study.
Following the fire, the state government directed that dry waste should no longer be transported to Brahmapuram from other urban local bodies. The Corporation also introduced decentralised collection and processing systems to reduce the accumulation of combustible waste at the site.
Initially, 20 closed, non-flammable containers were installed across Kochi for dry-waste collection, followed by another 30. Six sorting and processing centres were established, handling around 100 metric tonnes of dry waste daily. Recyclables were recovered, while refuse-derived fuel was sent to cement plants for co-processing.
Currently, only food waste from Cochin Corporation is brought to the Brahmapuram plant. A compressed biogas plant, developed through an agreement between the Corporation, the Kerala government and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, can process 150 tonnes of source-segregated wet waste daily into biogas and organic manure.
Two private Black Soldier Fly-enabled plants also convert organic waste into animal feed, together handling 100 tonnes daily.
The study documented fire-safety measures, including water tanks, hydrants, fire monitors, sprinklers, access roads and surveillance. However, it cautioned that infrastructure and new technologies alone cannot ensure sustainable waste management without effective monitoring. It also flagged environmental and health concerns around the thermal treatment of sanitary waste, particularly the need to monitor emissions.
The study documented the effects of waste mismanagement on residents living around the dumpsite, particularly communities along the Kadambrayar River.
Residents reported that the stench from the site persisted throughout the year but became particularly unbearable during December and January. The study recorded complaints of loss of appetite, sleeplessness, nausea and headaches associated with the odour.
Open burning during the summer months pushed some families to relocate. Dust generated by the waste-treatment plant during the dry season was another source of concern.
The consequences of relocation extended beyond immediate exposure to pollution. According to the study, most men in the community worked casual labour, while women contributed to household income through cattle rearing and related agricultural activities.
Following displacement, women lost access to land and livestock-based livelihoods, increasing their economic dependence on their spouses and eroding their financial autonomy. The study described these effects as lasting socio-economic vulnerabilities resulting from the combined impact of environmental degradation and displacement.
Recent improvements in waste processing have begun to ease some of these burdens. Residents in villages along the Kadambrayar River reported less exposure to stench and improved daily living conditions, with reductions in odour, dust, and smoke emissions.
Navas TS, a resident and former ward member of Brahmapuram, said that people in nearby areas were doing better now. “The food waste arriving at the site is sent directly to the respective processing facilities, and as a result, there are no major issues at the plant,” he added
The response to the 2023 fire brought state agencies, municipal authorities, the judiciary and other stakeholders into closer engagement, leading to increased funding, policy changes and renewed public attention to waste management.
However, the history of failed contracts and recurring fires underscores the need for stronger oversight of public-private partnerships, regular compliance monitoring and greater transparency. The study emphasised that lasting recovery would require environmental justice to be built into waste-management planning, alongside technological improvements.
“True resilience will depend not only on technological efficiency but also on building trust, transparency, and collaboration across all levels of governance,” it said.
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