By the second half of 2014, solid waste generated in the city may no longer be transported to Kodungaiyur and Perungudi dumping yards.
As proposed by the Chennai Corporation, work will soon begin on solid waste management plants in Kuthambakkam and Minjur in the outskirts of the city.
Once the project is completed, over 2,500 tonnes of garbage from the southern zones of the city will be transported to the facility in Kuthambakkam. Another 2,000 tonnes from the northern parts of the city will be taken to the Minjur plant.
This is part of the Corporation’s three-pronged integrated solid waste management initiative that comprises improved conservancy operations in the city, setting up garbage recycling factories in the outskirts and reversing the damage done to Kodungaiyur and Perungudi dumping yards.
The State government has now given administrative sanction to the Corporation’s initiative.
On January 18, the civic body will hold a pre-bid meeting for setting up the waste management plants. The facilities in Kuthambakkam and Minjur will be readied in 18 months or less, a Corporation official said.
The design and mode of operation of the waste management plants will also be decided at the January 18 meeting.
As many as 16 companies are expected to participate.
The third component of the waste management initiative — remediation and scientific closure of Kodungaiyur and Perungudi dumping yards — will be undertaken after the new facilities commence operation.
The technology adopted by the new plants will not pollute neighbourhoods around Kuthambakkam and Minjur, an official of the Chennai Corporation said.
The civic body’s existing garbage handling practices have drawn flak in recent times. Air and groundwater pollution apart, on more than one occasion, fires have broken out in the existing dumping yards putting the lives of residents in danger.
