A dumping yard that has long bothered residents in Pallikaranai is all set to be transformed into a top-class multi-purpose auditorium complex.
The Chennai Corporation Council will pass a resolution in this regard on Friday.
The proposal for the construction of Ripon Building Centenary Multipurpose Auditorium Complex on the yard is likely to fulfil the need for a state-of-the-art auditorium in the city.
The land, covering survey number 23/1A, is in the Chennai Corporation ward 188, in proximity to the MRTS station in Velachery. The 15-acre dumping yard will be subjected to remediation by the Corporation before construction activity commences.
After ‘enter upon permission’ and change in classification of the land is approved by the government, the Corporation plans to construct the auditorium in commemoration of the Ripon Buildings’ centenary celebration this year. The auditorium is likely to be of architectural significance and will emerge as a significant landmark in the city, officials said.
The dumping yard was used to dispose municipal solid waste from Alandur area from 1988 to 2012. The Corporation stopped the dumping of waste in the area after a major fire broke out in the yard last summer and threw vehicular traffic off gear on Velachery Main Road and adjoining areas for many hours.
Residents living near the dumping yard allegedly moved to other locations after suffering breathing problems as the fire spread to the huge pile of municipal solid waste that included plastic, paper and chemicals. Some residents were confined to their houses and many of them even left the area after they experienced difficulty in breathing and severe irritation in the eyes.
The new proposal of the Corporation is likely to be welcome news for residents of areas such as Mylai Balaji Nagar, Ram Nagar, Periyar Nagar and Sadasivan Nagar that were severely affected by the pollution last summer.
After intervention by the Madras High Court, the Chennai Corporation stopped dumping of waste in the area in June 2012.
The 100-120 metric tonnes of garbage generated in a day from Alandur area that were previously dumped in the yard are now being taken to a nearby site in Perungudi, which receives nearly 2,200 metric tonnes of waste per day.
