Coimbatore Municipal Corporation to spend Rs 53 crore to clear legacy waste at Vellalore yard

COIMBATORE: The city corporation has chalked out plans to treat the remaining nine lakh cubic metres of legacy waste in the Vellalore dump yard at a cost of 53 crore. Out of the 18 lakh cubic metres of legacy waste accumulated at the yard, the civic body launched a 60 crore project in 2020 to clear nine lakh cubic metres. Though the project was supposed to be completed by May 2022, the civic body plans to complete it by May.
Out of the nine lakh cubic metres, seven lakh cubic metres of legacy waste has been processed and cleared, corporation commissioner M Prathap said. “Work is under way to clear the remaining waste. Three machines are being operated. In order to expedite the process, we will add one more machine soon,” he told TOI.
The civic body has retrieved 45 acres of the 60-acre land. It will be put to use to raise trees to convert it into a lung space, the commissioner said. The second phase of biomining is expected to be started in a few months.
Legacy waste consisting of plastic, rubber, glass and sand are separated using machines. Plastic is sent to cement factories, where it is used for firing instead of coal as refuse derived fuel (RDF)
As much as 1,000 tonnes of waste is being collected from the city every day, a corporation official said. “Half of it is shifted to Vellalore for processing, whereas the rest is being dealt in micro composting centres in residential areas.”
The national green tribunal’s south zone had earlier this month instructed the commissioner to submit an action plan with a time frame to clear legacy waste. It also instructed the civic body to use advanced machinery to speed up the process.