Tender for waste-to-energy plant at Coimbatore’s Vellalore dump yard postponed after residents’ representation
The tender process for a waste-to-energy plant in Coimbatore has been postponed by one month following protests from local residents. Activists are urging the government to abandon the project in favor of decentralized waste management and scientific biomining.
Why it matters
This highlights the growing tension between municipal infrastructure development and local environmental health concerns in urban India.
The tender process for the proposed 1,200-tonnes-per-day (TPD) waste-to-energy (WtE) plant at the Vellalore dump yard, intended to process municipal solid waste from Coimbatore and Tiruppur, has been postponed by a month.
The tenders, which were scheduled to be opened on July 31, were deferred following a representation submitted to Tamil Nadu Prohibition and Excise Minister K. Vignesh by the Kurichi–Vellalore Pollution Prevention Joint Action Committee, and Poovulagin Nanbargal.
The representation sought withdrawal of the proposed WtE project, permanent closure of the Vellalore dump yard, scientific removal of legacy waste through biomining and implementation of decentralised solid waste management in line with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026. It contended that residents had been affected for years by air pollution, foul odour and groundwater contamination caused by the dump yard.
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