Out of site

it's a catch-22 situation. Although the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (tnpcb) wants local bodies to compost their waste, there is a problem of giving them the right place. A recent casualty is the much-touted Alandur municipality's waste-to-manure compost project. Citing a 'location criteria' problem, the tnpcb has indicated that the 15-acre site at Pallikkaranai earmarked for the project is on the fringes of marsh land. The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority also proposes to build a drinking water reservoir there.

The board says that the area is crucial for recharge of aquifiers. However, the municipality points out that the site has been used as a garbage dump before. And over Rs 90 lakh has been already pumped into developing the composting yard, construction of the compound wall and commissioning of a weighbridge at the proposed site.

Apart from Rs 1.22 crore as rent for the leased land, Rs 90,000 per annum was sanctioned to the municipality for garbage transportation to the yard. But the tnpcb now wants to revoke these allocations as it is worried that the local body authorities may burn carcinogenic waste. The board has issued a show cause notice to Alandur municipality questioning why sanctions should not be terminated.