Chennai Corporation to address direct leachate discharge from Perungudi dumpyard into Pallikaranai marshland

Chennai Corporation to address direct leachate discharge from Perungudi dumpyard into Pallikaranai marshland

The Pallikaranai marshland may see reduced contamination if the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) goes ahead with its plan to engage experts from Anna University to address the issue of direct, untreated leachate discharge at the Perungudi dumpyard.

The Hindu had recently published a news report, which said the leachate released from piles of fresh garbage has been flowing into the freshwater marshland, without undergoing treatment or processing.

GCC Commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran said while a leachate management unit is in place at Kodungaiyur, similar facilities are not available at Perungudi.

The private firms handling biomining at Kodungaiyur dumpyard, where biomining began recently, have partnered with the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) to establish a tertiary treatment reverse osmosis (TTRO) plant and a sewage treatment plant (STP). These have not yet been established at Perungudi, he said.

“Just concrete structures, retention walls, or barricades would not be scientific solutions. Therefore, experts from Anna University will be consulted for long-term solutions to manage the leachate, including methods for handling discharge depth, in-situ treatment, or transferring it off-site,” he added.

The ₹350.64-crore biomining project to process legacy waste at Perungudi, spread across over 34 lakh cubic metres, is underway and being taken up in three sections. The project was sanctioned under the Swachh Bharat Mission.

Due to delays and inadequate work by one of the two firms involved in the biomining process, the issue was taken up for arbitration in the Madras High Court and was only recently resolved, according to the GCC.