Kodungaiyur dump yard to soon become Chennai’s new urban forest
The Rs 648-crore biomining project is proceeding at a fast pace, and has already processed a whopping two lakh metric tonnes of waste from the dump yard till now, Corporation Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran told DT Next.
Kodungaiyur Bio Mining project
CHENNAI: Once a massive, revolting mountain of rotting garbage that polluted the air when the rag pickers set waste on fire to reclaim metal and made the groundwater unusable because of the dangerous chemicals leaching from the accumulated waste, the Kodungaiyur dump yard will soon become a sprawling urban forest after the Greater Chennai Corporation completes the biomining process.
The Rs 648-crore biomining project is proceeding at a fast pace, and has already processed a whopping two lakh metric tonnes of waste from the dump yard till now, Corporation Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran told DT Next.
Once the work is completed and the civic body reclaims the 250-acre land, the Forest Department would plant native tree species, he said.
The Corporation has asked the contractors who have undertaken the work to increase the processing capacity to 10,000 tonnes per day. But the seamless supply of power at adequate voltage has been a bottleneck, for which the contractors have asked Tangedco to set up transformers soon. “We are taking steps to ensure that the processing capacity is increased to 10,000 tonnes per day from mid-February,” the Commissioner said.
The Forest Department would plant native species – instead of Miyawaki forest – on the reclaimed land to turn it into an urban forest. “After that, the Corporation will do the maintenance work. The biomined soil will be used in parks and playfields in the city, and will also give it for agricultural purposes in Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur," he added.
The Corporation has asked the contractors who have undertaken the work to increase the processing capacity to 10,000 tonnes per day. But the seamless supply of power at adequate voltage has been a bottleneck, for which the contractors have asked Tangedco to set up transformers soon. “We are taking steps to ensure that the processing capacity is increased to 10,000 tonnes per day from mid-February,” the Commissioner said.
The Forest Department would plant native species – instead of Miyawaki forest – on the reclaimed land to turn it into an urban forest. “After that, the Corporation will do the maintenance work. The biomined soil will be used in parks and playfields in the city, and will also give it for agricultural purposes in Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur," he added.
Biomining to be in full swing between February and September: Commissioner
According to Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran, the biomining process would be carried out in full swing from February to September because the dumping ground would become slushy once the northeast monsoon commences. The biomining process is expected to be completed in 18 months.
The project is being carried out in six packages, which have been awarded to three contractors. The project cost of Rs 648 crore is being shared between the Corporation (Rs 378.09 crore), Union government (Rs 160.21 crore), and the Tamil Nadu government (Rs 102.53 crore).
Anna University is heading the Project Monitoring Committee (PMC) for overall supervision, monitoring, and certification of various activities to be carried out by the three contractors at the Kodungaiyur dump yard. The committee approves the quality disposal of legacy waste and other processes in the landfill. At present, works under five packages have commenced in the dump yard, while the trial is going on in the case of the sixth package, which is expected to start soon.
