For years, we have lived in the shadow of the Kodungaiyur dump yard in Chennai, and it has been challenging. The news of a Waste-to-Energy (WTE) plant being planned in the area has added to our concerns. The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has already issued a tender for the plant, and the bidding process is underway.
In response, many civil society organisations in Chennai have collectively written a letter to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), to protest the construction of the plant.
In the letter, we demanded:
- Scrapping of the WTE incineration projects in the Kodungaiyur area because of the health, environmental, livelihood and climate implications of the facility.
- Transformation of the waste management sector, including implementing local bylaws on solid waste management. This should focus on waste minimisation, source segregation, decentralised processing, penalties for non-compliance and restricting the production/manufacturing/usage of all SUPs in the local body jurisdiction.
Read more: Status check: Key concerns remain as Chennai moves ahead with WTE plans
The costs of living near the dump yard
I live on the interior roads near the dump yard and therefore, am not as directly affected by it as the residents of RR Nagar and Ezhil Nagar, the housing board projects opposite the dump yard. As the trucks move towards the landfill, they leave a trail of garbage on our streets. For years, we have been asking the authorities to clear up the trash or add netting to stop the overflow but to no avail.
Those living in the housing boards opposite the dump yard were initially living in informal settlements in Sowcarpet. The government relocated them to this resettlement site decades ago, and since then, they have had to bear with the stench of garbage from the dump yard every day. Friends and relatives visiting them are unable to handle the smell. During the rainy season, the waste gets wet and the smell becomes unbearable. In summer, the landfill generates extensive heat, making life difficult for nearby residents.
The high mosquito population often disrupts day-to-day functioning, causing sleepless nights, as they breed in stagnant water and wet waste. Moreover, wet garbage contaminates the groundwater, as it seeps into the ground. The entire neighbourhood depends on tankers for their water supply, spending exorbitant amounts of money every month.
Animals such as monkeys and dogs live inside the dumping ground. They eat what they find amidst the garbage. Many of them are diseased as the food they eat is contaminated by chemicals and waste.
How the WTE could complicate existing problems
While the introduction of the WTE project is aimed at reducing the legacy waste collected at Kodungaiyur, it could potentially worsen the existing conditions for those who live and work nearby.
The proposed WTE in Kodungaiyur will burn about 2,100 tonnes of mixed garbage a day or about 33% of the total garbage generated in Chennai. This would emit about 3,400 tonnes of carbon dioxide daily from a single WTE plant, which would be equivalent to the emissions from about 10 lakh cars at a time.
In addition, many people from Ezhil Nagar and RR Nagar also work in the waste economy as waste pickers and scrap dealers. Currently, around 600 registered waste pickers go into the dump yard to sort the waste every day. Once the plant is constructed, people may not be allowed inside the dumping ground. They are all unsure and sceptical of what the future holds — whether they will lose their jobs or receive compensation.
Read more: Invisible champions: How waste pickers reduce the burden on Chennai’s landfills
Unfulfilled promises
The successive governments in Tamil Nadu have made many promises to the residents of this locality. Earlier, the Jayalalithaa government had promised the construction of a ‘Thozhil Poonga,’ (Labour Park), which would house automobile industries, providing employment opportunities for those who have worked as waste pickers for generations. Many waste pickers in Kodungaiyur still have hope and speak about the same. However, there is no information on what will happen to the vast dump yard land after the WTE plant is established.
Ultimately, the tenders for the project have been floated with uncertainty about the way forward. Who is getting affected? What is going to happen? How will they successfully implement the project? For those living in Ezhil Nagar and RR Nagar, these questions still remain unanswered.
[Writing assistance provided by Savitha Ganesh, Engagement Associate]