Tamil Nadu: Illegal construction debris continues to choke Adyar river

CHENNAI: Imposing of penalties, seizing vehicles and registering cases have failed to deter private companies from dumping construction debris in the Adyar river.

On Saturday, a private vehicle dumped a huge quantity of debris on the banks of the river near Kasi Theatre in Jafferkhanpet.

V Gopalakrishnan, a city-based civic activist, filmed the incident and sent it to officials. "It was around 8am when I saw this lorry dumping debris into the river. This is not the first time this has happened. We have seen private lorries disposing of debris into the river several times," he said.

A corporation engineer, in charge of the area, said that in the the last three months, they had come across three such incidents.

"In one case, we levied a penalty of 5,000. We seized the vehicle involved and booked a case against one person. But there has been no deterrence. They continue to dump debris."

Illegal dumping is particularly rampant near Udhayam Theatre in Ashok nagar and on Anna Main Road also. "We had appointed a watchman and a conservancy staff to note vehicle numbers involved in the illegal act," the engineer said.

"Violation came down after we installed sheets and blocked these areas. We plan to discuss with highways and public works departments and set up a gate near Kasi theatre to ensure vehicles cannot dump debris there," said an official.

Despite locations being marked to dump debris there, companies continue to flout norms and offload debris wherever they please, say activists and residents.

According to officials, since January 2017, almost 4,648 illegal dump sites had been identified and residents were fined.

As per norms, whenever a building is demolished, corporation charges 110 per sqm from the building owner as license fee for demolition. Owners are responsible for clearance of the waste.

Builders in the city said they usually employed contractors to carry out demolition and dispose of waste.

The corporation is yet to call for tenders for setting up a construction and demolition waste recycling plant at Athipattu and Pallikaranai. But these contractors dump them illegally in water bodies and rivers.

"The problem is many constructions could be unauthorised so they cannot contact us for clearing it and thus illegal dumping," said an official.

Corporation commissioner G Prakash said he would look into the issue and set up a system to stop this.
Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Happy New Year wishes, messages, and quotes !