By The Hindu Bureau

Copyright thehindu

The North Chennai Federation of Residents’ Welfare Association has opposed the proposed Waste-to-Energy (WTE) plant in Kodungaiyur, citing a recent Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report that showed fly ash from WTE plants in Hyderabad’s Jawaharnagar and Dundigal contained heavy metals far exceeding limits permissible by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Federation said the CPCB, in its submission to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), recorded cadmium levels of 858.65 mg/kg in fly ash from the Jawaharnagar plant and 956.69 mg/kg from the Dundigal facility. The permissible limit under WHO standards is 0.8 mg/kg. It said the levels were 1,073 times and 1,195 times higher, respectively.

T.K. Shanmugam, president of the federation, said a delegation from the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), including Mayor R. Priya, Commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran, councillors, and officials, had visited the Jawaharnagar facility in April when company representatives told the delegation that there was “zero percentage” toxic discharge and that all ash was reused. Despite multiple requests, no supporting report was shared with the Corporation, he added.

He said civil society groups in Telangana, on September 19, made the CPCB findings public and noted that the same company operating there has been awarded the Kodungaiyur WTE tender.

The federation recalled that it met the Mayor again on August 28, along with environmental experts, and submitted the CPCB report. It urged that the Kodungaiyur project be abandoned and that the reclaimed site instead be developed into an environmental park and a public library with training facilities.