Disasters Forewarned due to Ill-Planned and Badly Executed Landfill in Wilpattu Buffer

We visited the vicinity of the Aruwakkalu area which has been a matter of threats, protests and a controversial project by a blacklisted Chinese company which is being rushed through by the Ministry of Megapolis under Minister Champika Ranawaka to transfer Colombo Garbage to Puttalam District (Daily Mirror, 15, 2019).

Aruwakkalu Landfill site

The Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development has proposed to develop a landfill in Aruwakkalu (in the Puttalam district), with a waste transfer station in Kelaniya, as a necessary alternative solution for the municipal solid waste disposal problem faced mainly in the Colombo Metro Region and in the Grater Colombo Area largely. The plan is to transfer the garbage using rail transport from Colombo to the proposed landfill site at Aruwakkalu, at a rate of 1200 tons per day, covering a distance of 170 km one way. However, the landfill is open to other local authorities in the Greater Colombo and the local authorities in Puttalam.

Aruwakkalu Landfill, reservation and buffer zones
Aruwakkalu Landfill, reservation and buffer zones

Final report, EIAR For the Proposed Project on Metro Colombo Solid Waste Management, MINISTRY OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT, WATER SUPPLY AND DRAINAGE, Central Environmental Authority, August 2015  (pp15-21) – link 

Final report, EIAR For the Proposed Project on Metro Colombo Solid Waste Management, MINISTRY OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT, WATER SUPPLY AND DRAINAGE, Central Environmental Authority, August 2015  (pp15-21) – link 


 

Aruwakkalu-Wilpattu Buffer

Mr.-Barr-KumarakulasingheMr. Barr Kumarakulasinghe is a environmental scientist. In the discussions Mr. Kumarakulasinghe highlighted threats to the water ways, ecosystem and wildlife particularly to three adjacent areas as the garbage Processing center is situated in a critical area.

 

  • Puttalam lagoon through leaching from the groundwater – this shall affect the fisheries and ecosystem
  • Kala Oya basin as the garbage processing center is 3km from the Kala Oya – water can be contaminated.
  • Wilpattu Forested Area which is six km away to which there is a threat from aquatic contamination through the groundwater and for the wildlife.
Aquifer-type-map-Sri-Lanka
Different types of aquifers in Sri Lanka (Panabokke and Perera, 2005)

Ground Water: The capping of the sanitary landfill is to be made of cement, it may crack as a result of dynamite blasting in the nearby area by Holcim and INSEE cement companies and if it cracks the effluents will end up in the waterways and groundwater.

Further, he says, the rain in the locality can be intense for brief periods -maybe 2000 mm for one and a half months – it will lead to overflowing of the landfill and we need to address the risk of leaching into the aquifers as well.

Links: https://wilpattuhouse.blogspot.com/2015/10/colombo-garbage-to-wilpattu.html

https://wilpattuhouse.blogspot.com/2015/10/update-colombo-garabge-to-wilpattu.html

 

 

Discussions with Mr. S.M. Mubarack

Mr. S.M. Mubarack

Mr. S.M. Mubarack is an environmentalist and a development planning officer, who has looked in to in-depth in development planning projects in the area over the years. Puttalam has been the butt of past projects with disastrous environmental impacts and he raises the issue of environmental racism in how projects are handled. The project to bring garbage to Aruwakkalu is the latest.

Site with Dangers

Aruwakkalu is the most unsuitable land to have the sanitary landfill or even open dumping, because what they are doing is on top of the limestone quarry which would not bear the load built up of 1200MT per day according to the Megapolis Ministry.

Shady Dealings

Even though the EIA says the loading will be for ten years the minister say eighty years and the funds for this project would be raised from the World bank and AIIB (Chinese bank) and the whole project is said to be estimated to be USD 274 Million, which in his opinion is much more of a building program than a garbage management program and knowing that the contract was given to a company (CHEC) which is a blacklisted company by the World Bank where the World Bank has withdrawn USD 115 million and USD 44 million was to be contributed by the government of Sri Lanka.

He further added, that the conditions that have been laid down by the Central Environmental Authority as part of the EIA are being completely violated and they are supposed to bring the garbage by train but, now they are coming by trucks.

Lack of Community Consultations

One of the integral parts of the EIA is community consultation, but, they have consulted about fifteen people at Kelaniya where the transfer station is and considered only two people from Aruwakkalu area, one of them is a Buddhist priest and the other is a farmer. Not a single local authority from the Puttalam area sends the garbage to Aruwakkalu but the unsorted garbage is sorted and the stinking garbage is brought from Kuliyapitiya urban council area is dumped at the Aruwakkalu site. For the whole project, the people and the Pradeshiya Sabha chairman and the members have objected, but Minister Champika is trying to implement everything in a dictatorial manner, he says.
Apart from that, they have consulted some government servants including Grama Sevakas who have said there is no problem without even knowing the integral parts of the garbage management.

References –

  1. Barr-Kumarakulasinghe, S, Colombo, Meethotumulla Garbage is not to Puttalam but the Wilpattu, October 14, 2015, Blogpost. http://wilpattuhouse.blogspot.com/2015/10/colombo-garbage-to-wilpattu.html
  2. Barr-Kumarakulasinghe, S, Colombo, Update – Colombo Garbage to Wilpattu, October 14, 2015, Blogpost. http://wilpattuhouse.blogspot.com/2015/10/update-colombo-garabge-to-wilpattu.html
  3. Kamanthi Wickramanasinhghe, Aruwakkalu Landfill Project Another White Elephant, Daily Mirror, 14 August 2019. http://www.dailymirror.lk/news-features/Sanitary-project-Aruwakkalu-landfill-another-white-elephant/131-172841
  4. Malaka Rodrigo, Environmentalists derail garbage train to Aruwakkalu, Sunday Times, October 4, 2015. http://www.sundaytimes.lk/151004/news/environmentalists-derail-garbage-train-to-aruwakkalu-166659.html
  5. Environmental Impact Assessment Report of the Proposed Project on Metro Colombo Solid Waste Management, Ministry Of Megapolis and Western Development, August 2017. https://ewsdata.rightsindevelopment.org/files/documents/55/AIIB-000055_LdaZhb5.pdf

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