CHENNAI: Officials from the Chitlapakkam town panchayat have finally removed the incinerator, located very close to the lake, and cleared the garbage surrounding it. The move comes months after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) took suo moto cognisance of the matter in 2020 after TNIE published multiple reports regarding the issue.
“The shed will be completely demolished within four weeks. Garbage has been removed and power supply has been suspended,” said a panchayat official. Residents are overjoyed with the move. “Since it was located near the lake, garbage would end up in the waterbody. Also, it is situated in a residential area. It was very harmful to inhale the smoke that emanates during incineration,” said Dayanand Krishnan, a resident.
Citing a TNIE article dated September 24, 2020, and the subsequent articles on non-compliance with an NGT order by the town panchayat in following Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, the tribunal in December last year, had mentioned a timeline of the case. The NGT, in its order, had said the town panchayat will implement the SWM Rules by January 31 this year, and identify a new site for a resource recovery park (to segregate waste).
Since identification of land may take time, the deadline was set for June 30, 2021. “Also, an incinerator of 5 TPD (tonnes per day) capacity was installed and a test run completed. It is yet to be brought to proper function for which Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) permission was sought and they issued a notice to stop running the incinerator. Again, by June 30, 2021, once a new place is identified for resource recovery park, this incinerator will be removed and shifted to new place,” the order had stated.