An end seems near in sight for garbage dumping problems in Pallavaram periya eri (big lake), Sembakkam Lake and Tambaram.
S. Ramamoorthy, Pallavaram municipality commissioner, recently submitted before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Southern Bench, that garbage dumping in these places will be stopped in a couple of months.
This is because the municipal solid waste projects in Pallavaram and Tambaram areas, including the waste-to-energy plant in Venkatamangalam, will be functional before November end.
A report submitted by the commissioner to the NGT Bench said, work on establishment of the scientific landfill in Venkatamangalam is completed and the waste-to-energy plant too is nearing completion.
The machinery for the plant, imported from Germany, is scheduled to reach the site on September 20.
Besides, the garbage transfer stations at Kannadapalayam in Tambaram and Ganapathypuram in Chromepet, under Pallavaram municipality, are also expected to be completed on or before September 30. After this, dumping of garbage in open spaces is expected to reduce.
S. Lakshmipathy Raja, Sembakkam municipal councillor, said dumping of garbage should be stopped immediately and the blocks in supply channels removed, so the lake continues to receive water.
“We hope the municipality acts on our demands for a pollution-free locality,” he said.
While welcoming the developments, S. Ramkumar, a resident of Ganapathipuram, Chromepet, said the promises made by the municipality on earlier occasions had not been kept.
“However, construction of a waste transfer station is a ray of hope, and we believe the municipality won’t disappoint us this time. We expect the civic body to introduce source segregation of wastes at household-level, as this will help the transfer station function well,” he said.
In September 2012, S.P. Surendranath Karthik, a resident of Ayyappa Nagar, had filed a petition before NGT, seeking to restrain Pallavaram municipality from dumping garbage in Pallavaram periya eri .
