CHENNAI: The delay in completion of an integrated solid waste management facility even after 12 years of initiation has resulted in the accumulation of 1.55 lakh cubic metres of unprocessed waste and ‘unfruitful’ expenditure of Rs 17.5 crore, according to the CAG report tabled in the Assembly on Thursday.
The facility was approved in 2008 at an estimated cost of Rs 44.2 crore to cover the then municipalities of Alandur, Pallavaram and Tambaram. The delay has been attributed to ‘technological issues’ in the conversion of the waste-to-energy project that was awarded to private contractors M/s Essel Infra projects in November 2012.
“Tambaram and Pallavaram municipalities (2018-19) incurred an expenditure of Rs 7.84 crore for establishing onsite micro compost centres within the municipal areas for conversion of waste into manure. This expenditure could have been avoided if the waste to energy conversion facility was in place,” the report said.
Even with the financial losses suffered by the municipalities due to non-completion of the contract, the bank guarantee of Rs 2 crore by M/s Essel was not invoked, the report added. While this was reported to the Additional Chief Secretary, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department of Tamil Nadu in March 2021, no response was received.
Report recommended that the government fix responsibility for this ‘lackadaisical’ attitude of the officials and encash the bank guarantee of the contractor and the implementation of an integrated waste management facility to prevent accumulation of waste.