by Our Correspondent
Deccan Chronicle
January 13, 2006
Chennai, Jan. 12: Residents of three villages in Gummidipoondi entered a project site of the Tamil Nadu Waste Management Ltd. on Thursday and chased the workers away from the construction site of a proposed hazardous waste landfill plant.
More than a 100 local residents entered the project site in an attempt to stop the construction of the proposed toxic waste landfill in S. R. Kandigai Panchayat.
They chased the workers, who were involved in the construction work, from the site and staged a demonstration urging the state government to shift the proposed plant to elsewhere.
The residents claimed that the construction was illegal and it was taking place without the permission of the local body.
Speaking to this newspaper, Mr. Y. Suresh, president, S. R. “The firm that has taken up the construction works has not got permission from the local body and we have passed a resolution in the council meeting protesting against the construction of the landfill in our area.”
Residents contented that the project was a violation of the Supreme Court’s guidelines and alleged that the project, if implemented, would affect the subsurface water and the agricultural lands.
The proposed project site has a 15-20 feet deep porous sand stone layer with subsurface water flowing towards the village and the nearby Kuluva Lake, the only drinking water source for the nearby 15 villages.