Faced with tremendous problems in disposal of garbage, Puducherry government is mulling a Korean method of municipal solid waste (MSW ) disposal through incineration as a scientific and sustainable solution. A Korean team will be presentating the model to Chief minister N Rangasamy, his cabinet colleagues and officials of the administration on Wednesday.
This comes after the National Green Tribunal’s southern bench (NGT-SB) pulled up Puducherry government earlier this month, in response to a case filed in Supreme Court, for dumping garbage at some of the villages in Tamil Nadu bordering Puducherry.
The tribunal directed the Puducherry municipal corporation commissioner to appear before it on November 29 to explain steps taken to prevent pollution of these villages by the civic body and the delay in getting environment clearance (EC) for the new dump yard that lies within its limits.
For decades garbage generated in the town limits, some 360 tones per day, was being dumped by Pondicherry and Oulgaret Municipalities at Karuvadikuppam, bordering Tamil Nadu near Auroville. However, following objections from the villages, the Villupuram district administration seized garbage-laden tractors passing through village roads. The government then moved the dumping to Kurumbapet, on a 24-acre site which it had acquired earlier. The site has no environmental clearance.
A public hearing in December 2011 on handing over the site to a private party was called off after the residents objected to the proposal considering the land’s proximity to their residences. They also moved Madras High Court, which granted an interim stay on the proposal. The site is also close to adjoining Tamil Nadu villages. Despite the site being very close to water bodies like Ousteri tank and Muthirapalayam, from where drinking water is supplied to Puducherry, dumping of garbage continued. However, an independent petition was filed in Supreme Court, which referred the case to NGT-SB.
Municipalities spend 50 per cent of their revenue for MSW disposal but the disposal remains improper, says N Ramesh, environmental engineer, Department of Science, Technology and Environment. The conventional method of composting and landfill is dragging the problem.
Incineration was considered best for MSW disposal in Pondicherry after calorific value of MSW wastes was collected and analysed by the Chemical Engineering Dept, says Ramesh.
If the proposal is found suitable, respondents Chief Secretary, Pondicherry Pollution Control Committee and Municipal Commissioners will have an answer to provide to the NGT-SB on November 29.