Garden waste disposal remains an issue in various parts of Chennai, say residents

Residents want the Corporation to clear the waste immediately after Tangedco workers prune trees in the localities.
| Photo Credit: M. VEDHAN

Residents in several parts of the city have demanded the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to take measures to clear garden waste from their neighbourhood. Piles of garden waste have been leading to the clogging of storm-water drains.

K. Ganesan, president of Tirumoolar Colony Welfare Association, Anna Nagar, said the dry leaves were clogging drains because of the delay in clearing garden waste. “Anna Nagar is an area with a large number of trees. The trees should be pruned and garbage removed by the Tangedco workers. We request the GCC to take measures to clear the waste immediately after the pruning.” he said.

Ward 104 councillor T.V. Shemmozhi said the residents had asked the GCC to introduce a wood chopper machine in each of the zones to clear the garden garbage immediately. “With fewer vehicles, GCC workers are unable to transport the trees to the dump yard on the same day. If the wood is chopped into two inch pieces, large quantities can be transported in the vehicles,” he said. 

“We want GCC to launch it on a trial basis in Anna Nagar. We need one wood chopper per zone. It costs around ₹15 lakh,” he said. A meeting was conducted recently to resolve issues relating to garden waste and construction debris, in addition to municipal solid waste collection.

Construction debris collection

The GCC has also decided to start collecting construction debris from residents who dial helpline number 1913.

GCC Commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran said the civic body will start collecting construction debris from residents after one week. “The work to collect construction debris was delayed owing to litigation. We have resolved all issues relating to the concessionaire, who will start collection of construction debris from zones such as Manali, Valasaravakkam, and Ambattur shortly,” he said.

Currently, the GCC collects construction debris from a few zones in the city limits, processing it to create products such as M-sand. After the issue was resolved, the GCC has collected 19,000 tonnes of construction debris from the city.

The micro-implementation and operation plan for primary collection of the construction debris has been approved by the GCC.