The Greater Chennai Corporation plans to start biomining nearly 80,000 cubic metres of legacy waste at the Athipet dumpyard, tackling decades of accumulation at a cost of ₹7.1 crore.
After years of delays, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is set to resume biomining operations at the Athipet dumpyard in Ambattur's Zone VII. The project targets about 72,083 tonnes of waste buried up to 2.5 metres deep, accumulated over nearly 40 years. Located in a small industrial area off the Chennai–Tiruvallur High Road, the site dates back more than three decades to when Ambattur was a village panchayat under the Villivakkam Panchayat Union in Tiruvallur district. It has lain unattended for almost four years.
The initiative, approved under the Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0, will cost ₹7.1 crore and aims for completion within a year. Zigma Global Environ Solutions Private Limited, already handling biomining at Perungudi and Kodungaiyur dumpyards, has been selected for the work. Biomining began at Athipet in October 2019, clearing 107,811 cubic metres by July 2023, but stalled due to challenging site conditions. In late 2022 and early 2023, fresh waste was temporarily diverted there amid constraints at Kodungaiyur.
Concerns persist over the site's management. Last year, G. Shanthakumari, chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Health, alleged ongoing illegal dumping despite the dumpyard's closure to new waste. She noted that during Cyclone Michaung in 2023, GCC directed garden waste to be dumped there, while private operators allegedly brought in household and other refuse.
