| Originally, like any other low lying coastal area, this Pallikaranai Marsh had been a vast stretch of land mass with MSL close to zero. In this area, Sea Water used to come in during high tide and recede during low tide leaving some sea water in the low lying areas. During monsoon periods, rain water will mix with the residual water left in the low lying areas. In the exposed land, vegetation, including trees would grow. Slowly with the population growth and with the construction of the two Roads ( ECR and OMR), the natural Sea water passages which existed across the Bucking Canal have been completely cut off. Now, there is no flow of Sea Water during hightides. There are no connections to the Sea between Adyar and Muttukadu. Practically it is only the Rain Water and the Sewages carried by the various canals that are discharged into the small area left out as Marsh. Now it is purely a Water body with no open land left out. It has an area of about 8KM North-South and 3 KM East - West( 6000 Acres). Even in this area, about 100 acres has been used for laying 200' Road, 450 acres have been swallowed by our Chennai Corporation for Garbage dumping, 15 acres for building STP, about 50 acres for constructing MRTS Station, another 100 acres for various other purposes. We shall be happy that at least now there is awareness and there is a ray of hope for saving the "Marsh". Half of the water body on the Southern side of 200' Road has been declared as Forest with the tireless efforts of Care Earth, Save Pllikaranai Marsh Forum, Environmentalists, etc. Also, based on a PIL filed by Sri Sai Nagar Residents Association and others, the High Court has appointed an Expert Committee to give its opinion as to whether the Chennai Corporation is right in dumping the Garbage in the Marsh in the light of the Technical / Legal aspects prevailing today. We can be sure that the Expert Committee is fully aware of all the Technical / Legal aspects and they will certainly recommend a strong NO to dumping in this Marsh. Difficulty faced by Chennai Corporation in Source Sgeregation (despite a clear cut lead time of 3 years given by MSW Act 2000 till 2003), can not be an excuse for continued illegal occupation of the Marsh by the Corporation. Please note, once it is filled with Garbage, nothing can be done. It is our duty to save at least whatever is left out ! K.Periasamy |
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Pallikaranai Marsh - Ray of Hope !
Monday, October 6, 2008
http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/03/stories/2008040359880300.htm
Harming environment: Scenes of garbage burning in Perungudi may soon become a thing of the past. —
CHENNAI: Besides directing the State Government to remove all encroachments on the Pallikaranai marshlands, the Madras High Court has directed the Chennai Corporation not to permit the four municipalities — Pallavaram, Madipakkam, Kottivakkam and Valasaravakkam — to dump garbage at Perungudi after April 30.
The First Bench comprising Chief Justice A. P. Shah and Justice Prabha Sridevan clarified that the Corporation could proceed with tenders for selecting a private developer for setting up the Integrated Municipal Solid Waste Processing Facility at Perungudi.
Passing interim orders on two writ petitions, the Bench said the State Government should not permit any construction activity on the marshlands. The court appointed a six-member expert committee, with Sheela Rani Chunkath, Chairperson, TIIC, as its convener to inspect the Perungudi Municipal Solid Waste Yard, CMWSSB treatment plant and the surrounding areas and submit a report regarding the suitability of the present site for usage and the continuance as a municipal solid waste ground and sewage treatment plant; to review compliance of various legislations, guidelines, rules and regulations in relation to dumping of solid waste and discharge of sewage; to review the earlier studies done by various agencies, and the measures taken and proposed to protect the Pallikaranai marsh and render suggestions for restoration and protection of the marsh.
The committee would also suggest measures for remediation of the land, ground water, flora and fauna in the marsh and Seevaram, Pallikaranai, Thoraipakkam and Perungudi villages. It would also consider the cumulative aspects of dumping of garbage, discharge of sewage and conversion of the marshlands to other use and suggest scientific alternative methods of dumping of garbage and discharge of sewage in the light of the methods in other countries.
The committee would conduct public hearing to ascertain the views of the residents of the four villages. The report should be made within six months, the Bench said.
Pending receipt of the report, the Chennai Corporation was directed not to permit their trucks to dump garbage on either side of the road and to remove the garbage already dumped on either side of 60 Feet Road abutting the residential areas and also the 200 feet road, within four weeks. It should demarcate the area of 200 acres which had been allotted to it by CMWSSB and further demarcate 106 acres which was actually used for dumping waste. Security at the dumping site should be increased to prevent incidents of fire. Appropriate scheme for segregating biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes should be evolved and submitted to the court within three months.
The petitioners, including Hyder Ali of Mannady, submitted that in the early 1980s the CMWSSB permitted the Chennai Corporation to dump waste at Perungudi, which today along with Kodungaiyur was a major recipient of Chennai’s solid waste. Adjacent to the dump site is a sewage treatment plant of CMWSSB. The area was low-lying with water-logging. The area was a flood plain holding stormwater runoff in the region ensuring that the surrounding low-lying areas were not inundated during monsoon.
Following a court order, the Advocate-Commissioner submitted his report on Perungudi landfill and sewage treatment plant in June 1999. The Commissioner recorded the consultant reports that there was a constant dumping of industrial and biomedical waste at the site. The Commissioner reported there was water-logging within the dump site and surrounding low-level areas and untreated sewage from the sewage treatment plant flowed along the dump site. He reported that he witnessed fires at a few places on the dump site.
The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board in its report in respect of the landfill at Perungudi submitted that the Chennai Corporation had not complied with the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000.
The Bench directed the Corporation to submit an action taken report within three months. The matter has been adjourned to June 30.
CHENNAI: Besides directing the State Government to remove all encroachments on the Pallikaranai marshlands, the Madras High Court has directed the Chennai Corporation not to permit the four municipalities — Pallavaram, Madipakkam, Kottivakkam and Valasaravakkam — to dump garbage at Perungudi after April 30.
The First Bench comprising Chief Justice A. P. Shah and Justice Prabha Sridevan clarified that the Corporation could proceed with tenders for selecting a private developer for setting up the Integrated Municipal Solid Waste Processing Facility at Perungudi.
Passing interim orders on two writ petitions, the Bench said the State Government should not permit any construction activity on the marshlands. The court appointed a six-member expert committee, with Sheela Rani Chunkath, Chairperson, TIIC, as its convener to inspect the Perungudi Municipal Solid Waste Yard, CMWSSB treatment plant and the surrounding areas and submit a report regarding the suitability of the present site for usage and the continuance as a municipal solid waste ground and sewage treatment plant; to review compliance of various legislations, guidelines, rules and regulations in relation to dumping of solid waste and discharge of sewage; to review the earlier studies done by various agencies, and the measures taken and proposed to protect the Pallikaranai marsh and render suggestions for restoration and protection of the marsh.
The committee would also suggest measures for remediation of the land, ground water, flora and fauna in the marsh and Seevaram, Pallikaranai, Thoraipakkam and Perungudi villages. It would also consider the cumulative aspects of dumping of garbage, discharge of sewage and conversion of the marshlands to other use and suggest scientific alternative methods of dumping of garbage and discharge of sewage in the light of the methods in other countries.
The committee would conduct public hearing to ascertain the views of the residents of the four villages. The report should be made within six months, the Bench said.
Pending receipt of the report, the Chennai Corporation was directed not to permit their trucks to dump garbage on either side of the road and to remove the garbage already dumped on either side of 60 Feet Road abutting the residential areas and also the 200 feet road, within four weeks. It should demarcate the area of 200 acres which had been allotted to it by CMWSSB and further demarcate 106 acres which was actually used for dumping waste. Security at the dumping site should be increased to prevent incidents of fire. Appropriate scheme for segregating biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes should be evolved and submitted to the court within three months.
The petitioners, including Hyder Ali of Mannady, submitted that in the early 1980s the CMWSSB permitted the Chennai Corporation to dump waste at Perungudi, which today along with Kodungaiyur was a major recipient of Chennai’s solid waste. Adjacent to the dump site is a sewage treatment plant of CMWSSB. The area was low-lying with water-logging. The area was a flood plain holding stormwater runoff in the region ensuring that the surrounding low-lying areas were not inundated during monsoon.
Following a court order, the Advocate-Commissioner submitted his report on Perungudi landfill and sewage treatment plant in June 1999. The Commissioner recorded the consultant reports that there was a constant dumping of industrial and biomedical waste at the site. The Commissioner reported there was water-logging within the dump site and surrounding low-level areas and untreated sewage from the sewage treatment plant flowed along the dump site. He reported that he witnessed fires at a few places on the dump site.
The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board in its report in respect of the landfill at Perungudi submitted that the Chennai Corporation had not complied with the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000.
The Bench directed the Corporation to submit an action taken report within three months. The matter has been adjourned to June 30.
http://www.hindu.com/2006/06/07/stories/2006060704970500.htm
Tamil Nadu - Chennai Nationwide study finds air quality worst in Perungudi dump yard
Special Correspondent
It had the largest number of chemicals that affect most organs Presently, none of the toxic, volatile, organic and sulphur compounds tested by the study is being systematically monitored by the Government.
CHENNAI: If results of a recent nation-wide study of air quality are anything to go by, Tamil Nadu's citizens are not breathing easy.
Two samples from the state — out of 21 collected from select locations across the country by a vigilante organisation, Community Environment Monitoring — have been identified as among the most polluted. The third most polluting sample was lifted from Delhi.
A sample from the Perungudi dump yard contained the largest number of chemicals found in any Indian sample. Another one lifted from near the effluent discharge point of a PVC plant at Mettur also had high chemical content. Both samples had chemicals known to affect most organs of the body.
The study, `Smoke Screen - Ambient Air Quality in India,' conducted between March 2004 and December 2005, reported the presence of 45 chemicals, including 13 carcinogens in 21 samples taken from various locations.
Thirteen of them were from Tamil Nadu, including the Mettur, Perungudi and Manali industrial areas and the SIPCOT Industrial Complex, Cuddalore.
The samples were collected with the help of a low-cost air-sampling tool comprising a plastic bag within a bucket, said Shweta Narayan of Community Environmental Monitoring. The samples were tested in a United States Environment Protection Agency-certified laboratory in California.
"Worst samples"
Denny Larson, director, U.S.-based Global Community Monitor, who introduced the bucket sampling system, said the samples from India were the worst he had seen in his work in 12 countries. The levels from one of the locations were at least 32,000 times higher than safe levels. Currently, none of the toxic volatile organic and sulphur compounds tested by the study was being systematically monitored by the Government. The Pollution Control Boards should set standards for permissible limits of toxic gases in ambient air and involve the community in monitoring.
Releasing the report here on Monday, V. Shantha, Director, Cancer Institute, said environment pollution could not be confined merely to ambient air toxicity. Groundwater pollution, noxious exhaust from poorly maintained vehicles and smoke from firewood kitchens and cigarette smoking also compromised the health of the people.
Study sought
She suggested that a study on the health hazards of people living in the affected areas be undertaken to highlight the gravity of the problem, and offered the services of the Cancer Institute to this project.
Air Sample Quality Test conducted in 2005
"http://sipcotcuddalore.com/downloads/choking_in_garbage.pdf"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)