With mounds of garbage, accumulated over the years in a 23-acre yard at Kurumbapet, getting fast depleted following the launch of bio-mining, the Local Administration Department (LAD) has started exploring options to set up a modern plant to process the solid waste, now being transported from Puducherry, Oulgaret municipal limits and parts of Villianur and Ariankuppam panchayats.
Last year, the LAD had awarded the work to Erode-based Zigma Global Environ Solutions to reclaim the yard after getting rid of the legacy waste using bio-mining, a process that splits the solid waste into various components. The department had entered into an agreement with the firm to process the legacy waste in July last year. As per the contract, the LAD would pay the firm ₹770 per tonne for bio-mining.
After the launch of bio-mining four months ago, the firm had removed around 1.18 lakh metric tonnes of the total legacy waste, of around 7 lakh metric tonnes, so far, B. Vinayagam, junior engineer, LAD, said. “The mounds of waste are clearly getting depleted steadily. Around 50% of the residue of the processed waste is fine/stone sand, 20% is construction materials, 20% is soiled materials and the remaining 10% includes clothing material and woods. We expect the bio-mining work to be over by December end. The land reclamation work is fast progressing,” said a Zigma representative posted at the yard.
The firm has sold around 30,000 tonnes of sand that is developed as residue, to people for using the material as landfill for developing property. “By the time, the entire legacy waste is removed from the site, a concessioner will be appointed to process the solid waste, now being transported by Swachatha Corporation from the two municipalities and commune panchayats. We are exploring the best solid waste processing practices followed in the country and elsewhere. Preparations are on to float the tender, inviting a player,” Director of LAD, Ravideep Singh Chahar, told The Hindu. The removal of the legacy waste would pave the way for the implementation of the Solid Waste Management Rules, he added.
