A human chain that vows to handcuff the proponents of a lethal biogas plant in the North Chennai residential area!

In the South Express issue of April 26, 2025, we reported the unhappiness of the residents against the Greater Chennai Corporation’s (GCC) waste-to-energy (WTE) project at Kodungaiyur in crowded North Chennai in our editorial. We also highlighted that the residents came together under the Federation of North Chennai Resident Welfare Associations on April 13, 2025, to protest against the GCC’s WTE component of the integrated waste management facility (IWMF), planned for Kodungaiyur in North Chennai, on a 75-acre Metro water land near the existing dump yard. The trigger for the people’s unrest was the recent signing of an agreement to burn 1400 tons of non-biodegradable waste generated in a day. The project involving Rs 1026 Cr was to be implemented in 25 years under a Public-Private partnership. The Federation passed a resolution to stage a massive human chain on 25^th May, 2025. There was no positive response from the Corporation.

As planned, the 4 km long human chain started from Kodungaiyur and ended at Vyasarbadi Ambedkar College. One who knows the intricacies of event management for such non-political, non-governmental movements will agree that it is not an easy task to bring together 10,000 people in a single line to form a mammoth human chain. The fact that 10,000 gathered to form the chain speaks to people’s commitment to stopping the massive waste burning. People who joined the signature campaign and human chain demonstration are mostly from a marginalised community in the thickly populated North Chennai Corporation area, who always felt that they were the most neglected lot. Understandably, landfills and pollution had already taken a heavy toll on their health and lives in the last 3 decades. The proposed waste burning project will only add to the misery of their lives. The President of the Federation, T.K. Shanmugam, asserts in a press release that they do not advocate any alternative model for the incinerator but reject the very burning of waste. One can feel the pain in his voice, and it is not just his voice but that of millions of residents around. Why don’t they relocate the project near the Secretariat, if it is not going to be harmful, asks Shanmugam. Federation demands the scrapping of the project. They want the Government to expedite the retrieval of the 352 acres of landfill area by biomining and establish a mega library, an international auditorium, a medical college cum hospital, an indoor stadium and a biodiversity park. Demanding an exclusive environment policy for North Chennai, the Federation pins its hopes on a positive response from the Tamil Nadu State Government and North Chennai Corporation. Pure water and clean air are often a distant dream, especially for the marginalised community. Only time will tell whether their hopes will come true!