The grand plans of Greater Chennai Corporation to launch waste-to-energy plants in Kodungaiyur and Perungudi are nearing fruition.
The civic body has done a study on a range of subjects such as waste characterisation in the city and quantifying the waste dumped in Kodungaiyur and Perungudi for the waste-to-energy project. Both the feasibility study and a detailed project report (DPR) are expected to be completed before the local body elections.
During the election campaign in the R.K. Nagar Assembly constituency in May, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leaders had assured the residents that the dumping yard would be shifted from Kodungaiyur in one year as residents of the locality had been requesting the government for the same.
The civic body has also received a number of complaints relating to pollution from the dumping yard. The waste-to-energy project in Kodungaiyur is expected to be commissioned in 14 months if the government is able to convince residents of the area that the project is actually aimed at reducing pollution in the locality.
The work on preparation of a detailed project report for the facility in Kodungaiyur and Perungudi started in June after the government shelved the solid waste management projects proposed in Kuthambakkam and Minjur.
The civic body had identified 99 acres of government land in Kuthambakkam and 69 acres in Minjur-Vallur three years ago. The plan was to take up waste processing, collection and remediation, but the proposal was shelved after residents around both the sites protested against the proposal.
