Chennai: Pallavaram municipality which kick started zero waste management last year, has now added a feather to its cap by producing 60 tonnes of organic manure through waste disposal plant at Venkadamangalam. The facility is now treating around 300 tonnes of waste per day.
Following the success of the waste treatment plant, Pammal and Sembakkam local bodies are also to join the Vengadamangalam project shortly and total production of manure per day will reach 100 tonnes, said Pallavaram municipal sources.
The local body through Madras Fertilisers Ltd has now started distributing manure to farmers in Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Vellore and Tiruvannamalai districts.
The plant is now getting ready for its second phase of expansion under which 4.5 mega watt power will be generated in the current fiscal, said M. Pandi, principal consultant, Infraen India pvt ltd. The trial tests were conducted and free manure was provided for the local residents and now MFL has been roped for in branding. The base price per tonne is fixed as Rs 2500 and is sold to farmers with a margin of '500, he said.
“The project is a joint venture of State, Centre and local bodies. Thirty five per cent of the project cost is funded under Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission and 15 per cent is provided by the State. Local bodies, including Tambaram and Pallavaram, are bearing the remaining 50 per cent project cost,” said Tambaram municipal chairman M. Karikalan. At present the waste generated in Tambaram is diverted to Venkadamangalam for treatment and there are plans to convert the existing dump yard at Tambaram into an eco park.
“During early 90s, I settled in Tambaram Kannadapalayam. All these years, the entire neighborhood was suffering from stench and ground water contamination due to dumping of waste. Now for the past six months there is no garbage dumping and quality of air we breath has improved”, said C. Ranganathan, a resident of Kannadapalayam.
Corpn’s zero waste centre proposal dumped
Twelve years back, Chennai Corporation proposed zero waste centre at Kodungaiyur dump yard and a similar project was mooted in Perungudi in 2008, both the projects have not moved an inch forward.
Highly-placed confidential sources in Chennai corporation confirmed that the proposed waste management projects will continue to be in shelf till 2017, as the civic body is now focused on October civic polls and the monsoon. “The major challenge that the corporation is facing is lack of technology to treat and handle 5,000 tonnes of waste generated in greater Chennai per day and now the waste is dumped at four different dump yards without any treatment”.
The Hazardous Waste Management Rules were formulated in 2003’ but still the electronic and hazardous waste are not treated scientifically in Chennai and are dumped along with solid waste at Perungudi and Kodungaiyur dumping yard. We are looking for new technologies as the existing ones practiced by other municipal corporations had failed, the official said.
