The Chennai Corporation will integrate decentralised compost plants in its proposal to privatise conservancy operations in 12 zones in the city. The civic body will float tenders for the privatisation of conservancy operations after the completion of Lok Sabha elections. In the first phase, zones of Tiruvottiyur, Manali, Madhavaram, Tondiarpet, Adyar, Teynampet and Kodambakkam will get the new private conservancy operator. The private conservancy operator for Valasaravakkam, Alandur, Perungudi and Sholinganallur will also be identified in three months.
“At least 1,000 tonnes of wet waste will be converted to manure at the decentralised compost plants. We will start marketing the manure. At least one lakh tonnes of manure will be generated every year in the city. This will be supplied to farmers,” said an official. The civic body has signed an MoU with the Agriculture Department to market the manure generated by the decentralised compost plants.
The Corporation has started work on developing decentralised compost plants in 632 parks in the city. Alandur and Adyar have the largest number of decentralised compost plants developed in parks by the Corporation. As many as 110 milch pits, 118 earthen pits, 41 masonry structures, 83 well rings and 164 tanks have been developed in various locations to compost the wet waste. The civic body has already warned of disciplinary action against officials causing a delay in the installation of decentralised compost plants in the zones. “We have set a deadline for completion of the decentralised compost plants this week. The final numbers will be collected on Wednesday,” said an official.
The private conservancy operator will use the facilities to compost wet waste collected from the households. “The payment for the private conservancy operator will also be linked to the success of the decentralised compost plants ,” said an official.
New operator
After the Lok Sabha elections 2019, the civic body will also identify a new conservancy operator in Kodambakkam, Adyar and Teynampet, where Ramky Enviro Engineers is currently carrying out collection and transportation of waste.
The Hindu , in an investigation published on June 11, 2017, found that Ramky Enviro Engineers was mixing construction debris with solid waste, in order to increase the tonnage, and consequently, inflating the bills. Following the report, the civic body decided to opt for a service-delivery model instead of a tipping-fee model.
