Biomining at Perungudi dump next month?

CHENNAI: The Chennai Corporation may finally begin biomining at Perungudi dumpyard next month, after a delay of almost nine months owing to the pandemic. Corporation officials said that tenders will be invited in a couple of days and would be finalised by December end. “This would be one of largest biomining project carried out in our country,” an of ficial told Express.

Biomining the landfill will help the civic body reclaim 250 acres of marshland in Pallikaranai. After years of discussions, civic body made a proposal to State Chief Secretary for biomining Kodungayur and Perungudi landfills at a cost of Rs 1,250 crore, early this year.

However, a financial aid of Rs 350 crore was provided only for reclaiming the Perungudi dump land. Officials said that the civic body would set up bio- CNG plants at Chetpet, Madhavaram, Pallikaranai and Sholinganallur to process wet waste and convert it into renewable energy, while dry waste will be processed through shredding machines.

The Pallikaranai marshland meets requisites chalked out by the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty to conserve wetlands protect water bodies from further depletion. The Ramsar tag will provide a waterbody international importance, and will also help it come under the purview of international policies.

However, the Forest Department’s proposal to include the marshland into Ramsar Convention is still on the back burner. Pallikaranai is a rare and unique type of wetland within an appropriate geographic region, and it supports vulnerable and endangered species of plants and animals. While a waterbody needs to meet only criterion for inclusion in the Ramsar Convention, Pallikaranai marshland met seven out of total nine criteria.

Traits
Perungudi has six million cubic metres of waste

80 hectares of marsh land used to dump waste in Perungudi

Chennai generates average 5,220 metric tonnes of waste daily