Deccan Chronicle 05.02.2010

TNPCB mum over zero waste centres

Feb. 4: The proposed zero waste centres at Kodungaiyur in the North and Perungudi in the South have been delayed by more than three years. The red tape of bureaucratic procedures and attitude of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) and Chennai corporation may be to blame for this, according to sources.

The city corporation cou-ncil has been speaking abo-ut the scientific project aim-ed at addressing the perennial problem of garbage du-mping in the city, but the project is yet to see the light of day. The integrated solid waste processing facilities at Perungudi and Kodungaiyur are expected to come up on a sprawling 30 acres. But the project is pending as the issue needs the coordinated NOC of the Central Pollution Control Board and TNPCB, says a senior corporation engineer.

According to the official, the civic body had made an elaborate presentation to TNPCB seeking mandatory NOC for the project. The main components of the facility would be waste segregation, plastic recycling composting, RDF (refuse-derived fuel) manufacturing and inert processing to civil bricks and development of sanitary landfill sites. But the TNPCB is yet to respond and the particular file is lying idle for more than two years. The corporation engineers are caught between the TNPCB and higher officials of corporation, the official alleged.

On a daily basis an average of 1,400 metric tonnes of garbage, collected from South Chennai is dumped in Perungudi while about 2,000 tonnes of garbage generated in North Chennai is just dumped in Kodungaiyur. There is no scientific treatment of the dumped waste. The proposal to begin the process is caught between the bureaucratic procedures of TNPCB and CPCB and is finally stinking the suburbs where the waste is dumped, he said.

When contacted, a senior TNPCB official said the bo-ard has forwarded the proposal to the CPCB. “Since Kodungaiyur is an indust-rial area, we need to get CPCB clearance,” he said.