Chennai: Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has launched a special rehabilitation camp for ragpickers at the Kodungaiyur dumpyard. The programme aims to provide a fresh start to marginalised communities by linking them directly to essential govt welfare schemes.
Mayor R Priya inaugurated the camp on Saturday at Kodungaiyur, where 265 ragpickers from North Chennai received services such as medical check-ups, Aadhaar enrolment, voter ID registration, housing assistance, skill development programmes, employment opportunities, and access to banking and social security benefits. The camp was organised in collaboration with multiple govt departments, including Metrowater, TNUHDB, labour and social welfare.
For the Kodungaiyur bio-mining project, GCC engaged volunteers trained by Anna University to bridge the gap between ragpickers and welfare agencies, ensuring effective delivery of govt benefits, Priya said.
Social activists have raised concerns about livelihoods of ragpickers, as the govt plans to implement a waste-to-energy project at the landfills. Since PET bottles, paper, cardboard, and glass will be sent to incinerators, waste workers risk losing access to these resources and, consequently, their sources of income. “Biomining is being introduced as a way to reduce landfill waste, but it has also disrupted the livelihoods of marginalised communities,” said Joel Shelton, an activist. Ragpickers played a crucial role in managing India’s 62 million tonnes of annual waste by collecting, sorting, segregating, and trading it for their survival, she said.