As many as 16 companies will participate in a meeting on Friday to discuss the tender conditions and suggest changes to make the proposal for solid waste management factories workable.
The Chennai Corporation at the pre-bid meeting will focus on ensuring that the technology in the solid waste management plants in Kuthambakkam and Minjur in the outskirts of the city doesn’t harm the surrounding habitations. The work is expected to begin after May.
“We will issue the work order in the first week of May,” said a senior official of the Corporation. The time required for completion of the work will be 18 months but the private companies will be asked to find ways to complete the work in a year.
After the solid waste management plants are ready, waste generated in the city will not be transported to Kodungaiyur and Perungudi dumping yards. The pre-bid meeting on Friday assumes significance as the decisions made will play a key role in solving the problems faced by residents of Kodungaiyur and Perungudi.
Over 2,500 tonnes of garbage from the southern zones of the city will be transported to the plant to be commissioned in Kuthambakkam. Another 2,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste from the northern parts will be taken to the Minjur plant.
The decisions pertaining to reduction of pollution caused by the solid waste management plants to an optimum level will help allay fears of residents of Kuthambakkam and Minjur, who have expressed concerns about the impact of the factories on the environment.
The proposal for setting up the plants is part of the civic body’s three-pronged strategy of improving conservancy operations, setting up garbage recycling factories on the outskirts and closure of Kodungaiyur and Perungudi dumping yards. The State government accorded administrative sanction to the Corporation’s initiative last month.
The civic body will be able to overcome resistance from residents of Kuthambakkam and Minjur only after ensuring that the technology used does not pollute the neighbourhood. Key decisions on tweaking the design and mode of operation of the waste management plants will also be taken at the meeting.
