TIRUPPUR: The Tiruppur City Municipal Corporation has sought the nod of the Madras High Court to allow temporary dumping of garbage on 9.21 acres owned by it at Iduvai in the Palladam taluk until December 31.
In an affidavit filed in the HC on Friday, the civic body cited that 19,850.40 metric tons of solid waste collected from households lies stored at 96 points across the city.
It requested the court's permission for temporary dumping so as to clear the backlog and also promised to clear the garbage from the Iduvai site within eight to 12 months.
Around 573 tonnes of garbage are collected daily from across 60 wards of the city. A major part of this had been dumped in abandoned stone quarries in Mudalipalayam and Nallur in Tiruppur.
The HC has imposed a temporary ban on dumping garbage in these quarries in response to a case filed by P Velusamy, the President of PAP Vellakoil Branch Canal Water Conservation Movement. The civic body has filed the affidavit during the hearing of this case on Friday.
With the ban in force, the city civic body has been struggling to handle the garbage generated daily. And it is also looking for permanent solutions for this.
The residents of Iduvai and its surrounding villages have been protesting against the corporation's decision to dump garbage
MP Amit, Commissioner of Tiruppur Corporation, in his affidavit, said, "About 19850.40 MT solid waste collected from households lies in and around habitations, hospitals, schools, electricity transformers, primary health centres, government buildings, etc."
This backlog is for the period from October 11 to November 27. The storage of waste on streets has resulted in the draining of leachate into open places, raising heath concerns among the public, the affidavit stated.
Both the officials and the councillors are left with no solution. Therefore, the court should allow the Corporation to use the Iduvai site for temporary storage of solid wastes, the Commissioner requested.
The HC was also apprised the open site at Iduvai has been readied taking all precautions.
"As per the court direction, the entire area of 9.21 acres has been fenced with 12-foot high galvanized sheets for a total length of 760 meters. A platform has been constructed there with a 346 m drain for collecting leachate water," the Commissioner further said.
A 50,000-litre leachate collection tank has been constructed and lined with a 1 mm HDPE sheet to prevent leakage. Construction of the platform, drainage, and another leachate tank of 72,000 l capacity is in progress at the Iduvai site. Further necessary guidelines have been followed, the affidavit states.
Steps will be taken to clear the garbage from January 1, 2026. The leachate will be disposed of at regular intervals as necessitated by the circumstances," the Commissioner added.
The case will come up for a hearing on Monday.