Choked by burning garbage, north Chennai residents seek scrapping waste-to-energy plant at Kodungaiyur

CHENNAI: Though the goal of the North Chennai Development Plan (NCDP) project is to improve infrastructure in the area and has been welcomed by the residents, however, they are not convinced about the Waste-to-Energy project at Kodungaiyur dumping ground.

On Saturday, members of the Federation of North Chennai Residents Welfare Association planned to meet Mayor Priya and GCC Commissioner Kumaragurubaran and convince them to withdraw the project. Else, the RWA and environmental activists have planned to stage a protest.

The Corporation’s bio-mining project aims to reclaim the landfill worth Rs 640 crore. To provide relief to residents of north Chennai, especially those living near the dumpyard, the local body floated a tender for Waste to Energy project at an estimated cost of Rs 1,248 crore by using a furnace over 75 acres of land. This move shocked the residents.

“Incinerating non-biodegradable waste from all 15 zones at the Kodungaiyur dumpyard is a bad idea,” opined T K Shanmugam, treasurer of Federation of North Chennai Residents Welfare Association, who pointed to a study by Anna University. “It revealed that the city’s solid waste is 7,600 metric tonnes every day. Assuming that one-third of it is plastic, burning 2,500 metric tonnes of plastic in Kodungaiyur puts the health of the residents in north Chennai at a serious risk.”

Residents also lamented over the chemical, fertilizer, petroleum, and thermal power plants located in Tiruvottiyur, Ennore, and Manali. These plants were already classified as highly hazardous by the Pollution Control Board. In addition to this, incineration of the waste in dumpyard will add to the existing challenges in living conditions in and around these areas.

Several RWAs in the Federation of North Chennai Residents Welfare Association have planned to meet Mayor Priya and GCC Commissioner to submit petitions to withdraw the WTE project. “If not, the RWAs and environmental groups will protest until they withdraw it. Why can’t the local body implement a waste management system in north Chennai, and create awareness among the residents about solid waste management?” stated Shanmugam.

The State government has plans to carry out several development projects under NCDP. However, due to lack of manpower, regulating door-to-door garbage collection is a challenge.

“According to international sanitation guidelines, one worker should collect garbage for every 250 houses. However, the GCC has set a ratio of one worker for every 500 houses. In Chennai, the number of houses and families per floor is increasing with every building. In practice, one worker collects garbage from 750-1,000 houses. If we include the number of families, a worker collects garbage from up to 1,500 houses,” explained R Jayaraman, CPI (M) councillor of Ward 4.

Recently, the federation members conducted a survey in Thiru Vi Ka Nagar (Zone 6), which revealed that at least 7-10 workers do not work daily but get paid. Upon enquiry, many cleanliness workers claimed that they work at the residences of Ward Councillors and political leaders.

“Politicians and officials should put an end to this practice of having contract workers do household chores. Legal action must be taken against those individuals who employ these contract workers. Disciplinary action must be taken against officials who are complicit in this,” stated Abdul Wahid, a resident of Ezhil Nagar.

Residents also want the Corporation to fill vacant positions and appoint sufficient staff to ensure sanitation work is done properly. Also, necessary vehicles, equipment, and other tools required for sanitation work should be procured immediately to provide quality service to the public.