CHENNAI: At least half of the 225-acre Perungudi dumpyard, currently lying idle with legacy waste, will soon be biomined as the Greater Chennai Corporation has resolved a two-year-old arbitration case with a non-performing contractor.
WeStart Communication, which went into arbitration in 2023 after receiving a notice for non-performance, has now begun work after the arbitrator resolved the matter. The contractor, appointed by the AIADMK government in 2021, processed barely 20% of the total 15 lakh cubic metres of waste allotted to them. In contrast, Zigma Environ, which took on the remaining portion of the dumpyard, completed the work by 2024.
GCC Commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran stated that about eight lakh tonnes of waste are yet to be processed by WeStart. “The contractor has promised to finish the work by August,” he said.
The commissioner mentioned that the contractor cited payment issues from GCC for non-performance. “During the arbitration, we found that the contractor did not transport 60,000 tonnes of processed waste. GCC will release payments only after the waste is processed. Additionally, the PMC did not approve of the biomining quality. We have asked them to redo a section of waste that was already biomined,” the commissioner said.
The biomining project, initiated in 2021 at a cost of Rs 320 crores, aims to biomine 30 lakh cubic metres of legacy waste. Ninety-four acres with 14,14,584 tonnes were allotted to Zigma, while 109 acres with 14,87,646 cubic metres were allotted to WeStart. In 2023, GCC removed about 3 lakh cubic metres of waste from WeStart and transferred it to Zigma.
Residents have said the corporation must focus on addressing the 3,000 tonnes of fresh waste entering the dumpyard. “They say 100 acres have been biomined, but daily, at least 40-50 trucks enter with fresh waste, adding to more garbage mounds. The health pollution does not end,” said K. Raghavan, a resident of Perungudi, in an apartment behind the dumpyard.
The commissioner said that once the biomined area is handed over, GCC plans to set up bioCNG plants, vermicomposting centres, and windrow composting centres.