Before Bhogi | Where there’s waste, there’s smoke: garbage burning chokes Chennai year-round

Waste is set on fire regularly across several parts of the city despite controls by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), causing concern about air pollution among residents.

For more than six months, a private plot in Marudham Nagar, Sholinganallur, has been used for dumping and burning waste. Amarendran, a resident, said garbage was seen burning in the early mornings as recently as last week. He said repeated complaints had been made to GCC and the Chief Minister’s Cell, but no action had been taken so far.

“Four years ago, the plot was gated, but no longer. It is a vast land and there is no surveillance to find out who is dumping/burning the waste,” he said.

Complaints raised by residents were taken to GCC on social media after earlier representations went unanswered. Till now, there has been no action on the ground, according to Harsha Koda, co-founder of Federation of OMR Residents’ Associations (FOMRRA).

“Officials said that as the land was privately owned, the responsibility to clean it rested with the owner. However, residents said they were the ones affected, and that the Corporation needed to intervene to reduce their hardship,” said Mr. Amarendran.

Similar incidents have been reported from other parts of the city. Waste burning was recently noticed near a children’s hospital in Velachery and under the MRTS railway track.

GCC also imposes a fine of ₹500 for burning garbage on private land, ₹1,000 for dumping and burning waste in public places, and ₹2,000 for shopkeepers for waste burning, with fines doubled for repeat violations.

Weak enforcement

Civic activist Ravi Kumar said enforcement of penalties remained weak and that burning was rampant near Madras University, with smoke often drifting towards Omandurar Government Hospital at night, and in areas such as the one near Mudakanni Amman Temple close to the Citi Centre complex, the cow shed in Triplicane, near the MRTS station in Korattur, and near a private college and Masilamani Temple in Nemilicherry. He claimed that in areas such as Avadi and Tiruvallur, municipal workers themselves indulged in burning waste.

Syed Abudhahir, 31, a resident near the Kodungaiyur dumpyard, has always been a witness to the burning of garbage. Even residents used to burn garbage at night to keep the mosquitoes away, and in the morning, smoke covers the area. He said officials had raised awareness against burning a few years ago. Residents of R.K. Nagar, Tamilar Nagar, Nedunchezhian Nagar, Patel Nagar, Netaji Nagar, Vinobha Nagar and Ezhil Nagar were the most affected, he said.

An official from GCC’s Solid Waste Management Department said several enforcement vehicles had been deployed for waste clearance and that fines were being imposed regularly. On December 12, the GCC penalised 197 large commercial establishments for burning solid waste, while 33 residents were fined following complaints by neighbours over garbage burning on their premises.