75 crore plan in pipeline for waste management

Chennai: The corporation has proposed a solid waste management plan to segregrate waste in the newly added areas of Greater Chennai. The 75-crore proposal has been sent to the state government for approval.
Corporation commissioner D Karthikayen said that the money would be used for providing better facilities in existing dumpyards. “If required, the corporation will create new dumpyards in those areas” he added.
After the expansion, the civic body is clearing 4,400 tonnes of waste from 426 sq km of the city every day. The notified grounds in Perungudi and Kodungaiyur receive at least 3,400 tonnes of unsegregated waste every day from the five zones in north and south Chennai.
The expansion of the city had many of the residents in Perungudi and Kodungaiyur worried. During the election campaign, they told candidates that the waste from the new wards of Greater Chennai should not be dumped there.
A senior corporation official said that many of the panchayats and municipalities had an independent mechanism in place for disposing waste but they do not have an efficient system of segregating waste.
“We are considering a public private partnership (PPP) in all the wards to reduce the quantity of garbage that needs to be disposed. Currently, the corporation, in partnership with ITC Limited, is collecting waste from Anna Nagar residents. Soon all the zones will be covered,” said the official.
The residents of Perungudi are fighting the battle legally, too. “We will not allow waste from suburban areas to come here. We have had enough. We welcome the new corporation plan,” said R Jayakrishnan, a resident of Perungudi.