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Corporation plans to create green belts in city

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The Hindu        28.11.2014   

Corporation plans to create green belts in city

Civic body starts identifying vacant land

Mayor P. Rajkumar (second right) and Corporation Commissioner K. Vijayakarthikeyan (right) planting a sapling at the sewage water treatment plant at Ondipudur in the city on Thursday.
Mayor P. Rajkumar (second right) and Corporation Commissioner K. Vijayakarthikeyan (right) planting a sapling at the sewage water treatment plant at Ondipudur in the city on Thursday.

The Corporation is planning to create a green belt on the premises housing large buildings in the city.

Mayor P. Rajkumar said that they have started identifying vast areas of vacant land on the premises of public sector establishments and holding talks with the officials to plant saplings.He said this after inaugurating the tree plantation drive at the sewage water treatment plant of the Corporation’s underground drainage project at Ondipudur on Thursday.

The Mayor said that they would be planting another 450 saplings in a phased manner. “Most of the trees will be aromatic to control the bad odour from emanating from the treatment plant,” he said.

Mr. Rajkumar said that the green belt would be made mandatory right from the planning stage to get the Town and Country Planning Department approval and implementation would also be strictly followed. “Efforts would be taken to urge the existing establishments to establish a green belt,” he added.

Corporation officials said that they are also planning to improve the green cover in education institutions too. Corporation Commissioner K. Vijayakarthikeyan and other Corporation officials were also present.

 

Corpn. launches green drive

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The Hindu      30.10.2014 

Corpn. launches green drive

Coimbatore Corporation has launched green city initiative to plant saplings across the city. Designated officers will liaison with residents’ associations to plant saplings, look after the safety of those and also receive complaints of tree cutting and hammering nails.

A release from the civic body said that as per instructions from Mayor P. Rajkumar, the civic body will plant saplings that are suitable to local conditions in its establishments, including schools, parks and roadsides.

The officers will be in-charge of the trees’ safety and will work with residents’ association.

The officers are also empowered to remove nails from trees.

Members of the public can reach the officers – Rajesh Venugopal on 94892-06016, Sabari Raj on 94892-06003, Muthukumar on 948920-06013 and K. Jayalakshmi on 94421-04122.

 

Board tested dump yard air for toxins just three times since 2011

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The Times of India       07.10.2014  

Board tested dump yard air for toxins just three times since 2011

 

CHENNAI: Despite garbage frequently catching fire or being set ablaze at the Kodungaiyur and Perungudi dump yards and repeated complaints from residents of localities nearby about smoke and health problems, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has collected air samples from the sites to test for toxins only thrice since 2011.

Data obtained by TOI through an RTI application has found that the board tested air at Kodungaiyur just once, in 2011-12, when it collected six samples. It tested the air in Perungudi on two occasions, collecting four samples in 2012-13 and two in 2013-14.

Of the six samples from Kodungaiyur, three contained respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) well in excess of the maximum permissible limit of 100 ug/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter of air).

In Perungudi, the board found two of the four air samples collected in 2012-13 and one of the two collected in 2013-14 had higher than permissible RSPM levels.

Research has shown that exposure to air with an RSPM levels in excess of 100ug/m3 causes a wide range of health problems, including respiratory illnesses and cancer.

The corporation and private sanitation company Ramky Enviro unload more than 4,500 tonnes of garbage into the Kodungaiyur and Perungudi dump yards every day and ragpickers often set fire to garbage to collect metal. But Corporation of Chennai's public health department has not conducted a single check on residents of localities surrounding the dump yards for possible problems as a result of air pollution. The residents say many families suffer from respiratory disorders.

Tests by Community Environmental Management and Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives in 2012 showed that air around the Kodungaiyur yard contained at least 19 toxic chemicals and carcinogens.

A TNPCB official said the board does not have the equipment to monitor air pollution. "We plan to install ambient air quality monitors in these areas as soon as possible," he said.

Environmentalist Nityanand Jayaraman says the Swachh Bharat campaign is a good initiative but officials remain removed from ground realities such as the fallout of dumping garbage in open sites within the city. "People in areas near the dump yards are fed up with air and water pollution. The corporation should shut down the dump yards," she said. 

 


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