In TN, solid waste management plant to be launched on unsuitable site
13 Apr, 2013The Tamil Nadu government had decided in 2007 to set up a 100-acre solid waste management plant at Kuthambakkam and for this, 66 acres were acquired and transferred to the municipalities of Ambattur, Maduravoyal and Valasaravakkam among others without the consensus of the Panchayat.
In 2009, an application was filed with the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking to get the clearance details of the plant. The TNPCB, in its reply, send the report submitted by the inspection committee appointed by TNPCB in 2008 which had visited the site. The copy of the report provided in the reply said that the site was not suitable for the establishment of the plant.
The panchayat moved the Madras High Court with RTI reply as proof and the court asked the state to go for Environment Impact Assessment and to consult the panchayat before taking action. However, in 2010 the municipalities were absorbed into Chennai Corporation and the plan was abandoned.
The government has again decided to set up the plant in Kuthambakkam through Chennai Corporation, a move that has been opposed by a resolution passed by the gram Sabha of Kuthambakkam panchayat. The major objections to the site include its being a residential area and grazing land apart from it being one of the main water catchment areas, through which around 31 cascade lakes overflow from Perambakkam to Chembarambakkam Lake, city’s major drinking water source.