Chennai Corporation removes 20.16 lakh MT legacy waste from Kodungaiyur yard
At the Kodungaiyur dumpyard, which spans 342.91 acres, 252 acres are used for solid waste dumping;
Greater Chennai Corporation (Photo: Hemanathan M)
CHENNAI: The Solid Waste Management (SWM) department of the Chennai Corporation has removed 20.16 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste from the Kodungaiyur dumpyard and cleared 94 per cent of the legacy waste via biomining.
At the Kodungaiyur dumpyard, which spans 342.91 acres, 252 acres are used for solid waste dumping. Of the total 66.52 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of waste, 20.16 lakh MT has been removed by biomining. The civic body disposes of 6,300 MT of solid waste and 1,000 MT of construction debris per day on average. The biomining process at the yard has been under way since 2024, following the orders of Chief Minister Stalin and the contract to biomine, at Rs 641 crore, was awarded in six packages.
Through packages 1 and 2, 3 acres of land have been reclaimed, and the civic body is taking steps to construct a fence at an estimated cost of Rs 57 lakh and to plant 1,500 saplings and nurture them.
About 3 acres of land have been reclaimed through Packages 1 and 2. On this reclaimed land, steps have been taken by the Greater Chennai Corporation to construct a fence at an estimated cost of Rs. 57 lakhs and to plant and maintain about 1,500 green saplings with piped irrigation facilities.
K Prabhakaran, an Ezhil Nagar resident, listed the worries that come with living near a dumpyard, "Contamination of groundwater, people get sick and get skin allergies. During the monsoon, the situations get worse, we can’t beat the smell," he said.
An official in the Chennai Corporation told DT Next that Kodungaiyur receives 3,000 MT of fresh waste per day. Every year during the monsoon, the biomining process will be slowed down and put on hold. "The contractors are to process 7,000 - 8,000 MT of waste every day. The wastes are being covered to avoid getting wet, and fines will also be imposed on contractors who fail to accomplish the target," noted the official.
Another civic body official noted that 50 MT of household waste is collected every day by conservancy inspectors and is burned at the incinerator. The ash from the waste is mixed with cement to make paver blocks, which are in turn sold to companies.
Whereas in Perungudi, in an aggregate of 225 acres of legacy waste accumulation, 94 acres of land were reclaimed. The Perungudi dump yard receives 2,500 MT of waste daily.