TIRUCHY: Even as the second phase of biomining is underway at Ariyamangalam dump yard, the city corporation, in a deviation from plan, is mulling over utilisation of the 47.7-acre land after ridding it of garbage for “development projects”.
The civic body had earlier stated that Tiruchy's largest dump yard would be used for improving the city’s green cover upon completion of biomining. "We have spent so much money on the land in Ariyamangalam.
Therefore, there are plans to utilise the reclaimed land for development projects. We can construct IT parks, commercial complexes, hospitals, etc. in the plot. Such a project would be more beneficial for residents," a senior corporation official said.
Officials reasoned that as the corporation is already planting saplings at several locations, a move to drop the initial plan for afforestation of the Ariyamangalam site would not pose any issues. "This year alone we have planted about two lakh saplings along roadsides and vacant lands under our control. We also have plans to plant saplings at more locations in the coming years.
Therefore, even if we drop the afforestation plan in Ariyamangalam, it would not have a major impact on our efforts to improve the city’s green cover," an official said. Welcoming the biomining project that has so far utilised about Rs 74.39 crore to remove tonnes of garbage from the dump yard, L Murugesan, a resident of Ariyamangalam, said,
“If the corporation uses the recovered land for planting saplings, it would not be of much help for residents. It should hence consider building some super speciality hospital or develop other projects at the site."