The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is launching a major new phase in its long-running battle to clean up the Perungudi dumpyard. With the site inching towards final closure, fresh assessments have revealed a significant amount of work still remains. The civic body has now decided to undertake bio-mining of an additional 5.5 lakh tonnes of legacy waste that was previously unaccounted for.
New Tender and Project Cost
To tackle this newly identified mound of waste, the corporation has floated a fresh tender under the central government's Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0. The extensive bio-mining and remediation works for this additional quantity are estimated to cost the civic body approximately ₹53.60 crore. This decision comes after a recent survey conducted by Anna University, which pinpointed the exact volume of unprocessed waste.
"During a recent survey conducted by Anna University, 5.5 lakh tonnes of waste dumped earlier is yet to be processed. Funds have been allocated to process this waste through the bio-mining project. Once the government approves the proposal, a tender will be floated and work will begin," explained C A Balamurali, chief engineer (solid waste management) for the GCC.
Progress So Far and Reasons for Delay
The clean-up operation at Perungudi has been a multi-package project. Out of an estimated 30 lakh tonnes of waste originally at the landfill, the corporation has successfully processed 28.7 lakh tonnes. This work was carried out under six different packages. Notably, the bio-mining work under packages 3, 4, and 5 was completed as recently as September.
However, the journey has not been without hurdles. Work under packages 1, 2, and 6 has faced significant delays. These have been primarily due to ongoing court cases and arbitration proceedings. "Since the work has been progressing at a slow pace, the corporation has decided to float a fresh tender to process the additional waste under packages 1 and 2," added the official.
The situation has been complicated by the fact that even after initial surveys and work orders, fresh municipal waste continued to be dumped at the landfill near Radial Road. The initial survey was conducted back in June 2020, with work orders issued in 2021. The original contracts for packages 1 and 2 involved processing 4.2 lakh tonnes and 3.7 lakh tonnes of waste, respectively.
Land Reclamation and Future Use
Despite the challenges, the project has yielded positive results in terms of land recovery. The bio-mining process has already led to the reclamation of around 94 acres of valuable land at the Perungudi site. The GCC has plans for this newly freed space.
On four acres of this reclaimed land, the corporation is actively constructing windrow composting centres. These facilities are designed to have a combined processing capacity of 100 tonnes of waste per day, representing a sustainable step forward for the city's daily waste management needs. The closure of the dumpyard and remediation of the site remain a critical priority for Chennai's environmental health and urban development.
