The Hindu 30.03.2011
Waste management proposal cleared
Coimbatore may soon be free of construction debris, if the Corporation goes ahead with its waste management proposal. And it will in all probability, as the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board recently approved of the proposal.
The civic body, a few months ago, mooted the idea of safely disposing of construction debris after complaints started pouring in that debris was being dumped indiscriminately along tanks and on vacant plots.
The civic body's decision to seriously address debris management came in the backdrop of NGOs like Siruthuli urging it to do something to protect the water bodies in and around the city.
K. Mylswami, Project Coordinator, Siruthuli, said it had become a habit in the city to dump debris along lake bunds.
Debris could mostly be found along Valankulam, Krishnampathy, Periyakulam and Muthannan Kulam he said and added that debris dumped along Valankulam had eaten away more than an acre. And this had given way for a parking lot.
He warned that if the situation were to continue, Coimbatore would stand to lose its water resources.
The Corporation stumbled upon the idea of safely dumping the debris in abandoned quarries in Madukkarai.
In this regard it wrote to the district administration a few months ago seeking permission to use four quarries in Madukkarai. The State Government had been using the quarries until a few years ago.
In Corporation's estimation the quarries were spread over nearly 40 acres and could hold construction debris for a long time to come, sources said.
More than 10 per cent of the 600-odd tonnes garbage the Corporation collects everyday is debris.
After the district administration's approval, it wrote to the TNPCB for clearance, which it obtained a few days ago.
The sources said soon after the completion of the elections, the Corporation will work with Siruthuli and other like minded organisations in gathering and dumping debris in the quarries. No other waste would be dumped there, though.
