The New Indian Express 13.10.2010
Ambattur municipal chief on compost yard issues
CHENNAI: Stating “private vested interest was trying to derail developmental process,” Ambattur municipal commissioner Ashish Kumar challenged the views expressed by a host of environmental experts on Monday at a seminar in IIT-Madras on the threats posed by proposed compost yard to Chembarambakkam Lake.Professor Swaminathan, member of several expert committees constituted by the TNPCB, Almitra Patel, member of the Supreme Court Committee on Solid Waste and BS Murthy, professor of civil engineering at IIT-Madras, were among a galaxy of experts who warned about the sensitive location of the compost yard - in the catchment area of Chembarambakkam lake, at the seminar on Monday.
Responding to the Express report published on Tuesday titled ‘City’s major water source under threat’, the municipal commissioner in a press note stated that “these seminars turnout to be parallel public hearings organized by agencies which are not legally authorized to do so.” Ashish Kumar also mentioned that he had written to the director of IIT-M expressing views about the seminar.
In the four-page note addressed to Express, Kumar argued that the compost yard would not cause any pollution and listed out various technicalities. However, he did not address the major bone of contention - the proposed site being located in the catchment area of the lake.
“The sanitary land fill proposed is of internationally accepted design which has five layers of different impervious materials. Therefore, there is absolutely no question of seepage of leachate and any pollution of ground water,” he said. Speaking at the seminar on Monday, Prof Murthy had pointed at how large engineered landfills (of similar design) had failed in various places in the past three decades.
Ashish also refuted the statement made by Almitra Patel, member of SC committee on solid waste who alleged that none of the top officials had visited the site. “Top officials including Secretary, Director of Municipal Administration, Solid Waste Management experts and different Municipal Commissioners have visited the site at different occasions,” he said.
The municipal commissioner’s letter was also silent on the apprehensions raised by the TNPCB constituted expert committee over the location of the project.
