New biogas plants to be operational next year
Chennai will get more biogas plants across various zones by February 2024. The plants will be established at the direction of the Greater Chennai Corporation. Currently, there are two biogas plants operational at Chetpet and Madhavaram. These plants generate 6 tonnes of biogas per day through the processing of waste.
New biogas plants are expected to come up in Manali, Shollinganallur and Koyambedu. These plants will have a processing capacity of 500, 200 and 200 tonnes of waste respectively. Around 30% of the city’s waste is expected to be processed by all the biogas plants across the city.
Source: The Hindu
Read more: Chennai awaits more bio-CNG plants to enable switch to clean energy
Water meters to be installed by CMWSSB
The Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) will install water meters across high-rise buildings and commercial buildings across the city. The water meters are expected to ensure a reduction in the wastage of water and help in the detection and prevention of leaks and theft. The meters will be electromagnetic and will have IoT sensors in place. The goal of CMWSSB is to have 90% of all high-rise and commercial buildings install water meters by 2026.
A detailed project report is being prepared for this project in partnership with the World Bank. A total of 2.5 lakh meters are expected to be installed in core and added areas. Individual consumers will be brought under the purview of the project at a later stage. The installation process will begin in 2024.
Source: The Hindu
Conservancy workers stage protest
Around 50 conservancy workers belonging to the Red Flag Union staged a protest against the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) in the regional office in Royapuram. The workers raised their voices against the lack of provision of basic amenities by the civic body to carry out their jobs.
They also brought up the issue of lack of maintenance of battery-operated vehicles being used by them to collect waste door-to-door. Workers claim that they have had to spend out of pocket for repairs of the battery-operated vehicles due to poor quality of the vehicles.
The protesting workers also demanded that there be no delay in disbursement of salaries. At present, some of the workers are seeing delays of over two weeks. The protesting workers also claimed that despite these issues being brought to the attention of the civic body, no action has been taken to provide relief.
Source: DTNext
Read more: Hired under NULM, fired without notice: Conservancy workers in Chennai wait for justice
CMDA study on housing in Chennai Metropolitan Area
The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has begun a study to assess the demand and supply of housing in the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA). The study will be carried out by the firm Cushman and Wakefield. The aim of the study is to understand challenges in housing and develop a data-driven decision-making mechanism.
The study will first assess some growth corridors in the city and examine parameters like flood space index and transfer of development rights. A demand and supply survey will also be carried out by the consultant. Demand for housing across income groups will be assessed on the basis of the findings of this study.
Source: The Times of India
Second metro station at St Thomas Mount
The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has made the decision to have two metro stations at St Thomas Mount instead of one as part of Phase II. The new station will be built on the same premises as the existing station. The decision was made by the CMRL owing to technical difficulties.
The new station will be connected with the existing stations at the concourse level to help the movement of passengers between corridors. The new station will also help commuters gain access to the suburban rail network. The construction is expected to be completed by 2027.
Source: The Hindu
[Compiled by Aruna Natarajan]