CHENNAI: The private firm, WeStart Communications, which has been entrusted with removing a portion of the legacy waste at Perungudi dumpyard has been slow in doing so. Hence, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has transferred a part of its work to Zigma Global Environ Solutions, which has been doing a major portion of biomining work at the dumpyard.
TNIE had earlier reported that WeStart Communication, a registered public relations and advertising firm, had been awarded tenders to process waste without previous experience in waste management.
The tenders for biomining work to clear the legacy waste accumulated over 30 years at the Perungudi dumpyard were awarded in five packages. Of this, the first two, amounting to 12.7 lakh cubic metres, is being carried out by the WeStart Communication and Premier Precision Surface, and the rest (packages 3,4 and 5), amounting to 17.51 lakh cubic metre, by Zigma Global Environ Solutions.
According to the corporation’s resolution, the processing of waste in packages 3, 4 and 5 has been completed. The disposal of Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) and Biosoil is in process and it will be completed in four months. However, only 38% of the work has been completed in the first two packages, which are being handled by WeStart and Premier Precision Surface, and clearing the waste within the stipulated time is not possible.
As per the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tender Rules, the authority awarding the contract can vary the quantity up to 25% of the final order given to a company. Applying this rule, the corporation has added 3.17 lakh cubic metres of waste to packages 3,4 and 5. “We are planning to complete the waste processing by the end of June.
As both projects are carried out in the same dumpyard and processing is faster by Zigma, we have transferred the waste to ensure timely completion,” said a corporation official. He added that construction of waste processing facilities in the dumpyard to ensure the end-to-end solution will take up to another two years and a separate contract will be awarded to clear out the waste accumulated till that time.