6 days Ago By Omjasvin M D
Chennai: At least half of the 225-acre Perungudi dumpyard, currently lying idle with legacy waste, will soon be biomined as Greater Chennai Corporation has resolved a two-year-old arbitration case with a non-performing contractor. WeStart Communication , which went into arbitration in 2023 after receiving a notice for non-performance, has now begun work after the issue was resolved. The contractor, appointed by the AIADMK govt in 2021, processed just 20% of the 15lakh cubic metres of waste allotted to them.
In contrast, Zigma Environ , brought in to manage the rest of the dumpyard, completed work by 2024. GCC commissioner J Kumaragurubaran said that about eight lakh tonnes of waste was yet to be processed by WeStart. "The contractor has promised to finish the work by Aug," he said.
The commissioner said that the contractor cited payment issues from GCC for non-performance. "During arbitration, we found that the contractor failed to transport 60,000 tonnes of processed waste. GCC will release payments only after the waste is processed," he said.
Additionally, the project management committee did not approve of the biomining quality. "We have asked them to redo a section of waste that was already biomined," he added. The biomining project , initiated in 2021 at 320crore, aims to clear 30 lakh cubic metres of legacy waste.
Zigma was alloted 94 acres with 14.14lakh tonnes of waste. WeStart got 109 acres with 14.
87lakh cubic metres. In 2023, GCC removed 3lakh cubic metres from WeStart's share and handed it to Zigma. Residents said the corporation must focus on addressing the 3,000tonnes of fresh waste entering the dumpyard.
"They say 100acres have been biomined, but at least 40-50 trucks dump waste daily, adding to the garbage mounds," said K Raghavan, a resident of Perungudi. The commissioner said that once the biomined area is handed over, GCC plans to set up bioCNG plants, vermicomposting centres, and windrow composting centres..
