TN govt to take up Rs 1,400-cr flood control project

The Tamil Nadu government will take up a flood-mitigation project in Chenani city at an outlay of Rs 1,447 crore under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The project envisages construction of new micro- and macro-drainage systems in four basins and making improvements to the existing drainage system.

With this, the city hopes to overcome the threat of inundation of its low-lying areas during the north-east monsoon each year, and possible loss of lives.

Public Works Department (PWD) principal secretary S Ramasundaram said the Chennai Corporation would improve the city’s drainage at a cost of Rs 815 crore. The PWD’s ten schemes would cost Rs 633.3 crore. The corporation has already started the work.

He added his department had finalised tenders for seven schemes costing Rs 533 crore and works were expected to be completed in two years.

“As land acquisition would take a minimum of one year for the three remaining schemes costing Rs 100 crore, they could take three years for completion as the government is keen on resettling the encroachers before evicting them,” he said.

Apart from spending Rs 304 crore on improvement works in Buckingham Canal, the PWD would construct a connecting canal between Otteri Nullah and the Cooum river at a cost of Rs 9.87 crore. Another connecting canal would be built at a cost of Rs 25 crore to divert surplus water from Virugambakkam and Arumbakkam canals into the Cooum.

PWD will also spend another Rs 58 crore to take surplus water from the Velachery lake to South Buckingham canal and another Rs 53 crore for a new canal to divert flood water from Okkiyam Madu to the Bay of Bengal.

Improvement works to divert surplus water would be taken up at Ambattur, Porur and Maduravoyal lakes at a cost of Rs 62 crore.

The Otteri Nullah would be desilted and strengthened at a cost of Rs 33 crore. Virugambakkam and Arumbakkam canals would be widened and strengthened at a cost of Rs 40.83 crore.