In a bid to restore Chennai’s waterways, the Tamil Nadu government has issued orders to mitigate and plug sewage flow into the Adyar, Buckingham Canal and Cooum river at a project cost of ₹2,371 crore. The Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had issued a statement in the Assembly in July.
The State government has accorded in-principle approval for the project and in the first phase, has given an administrative sanction of ₹1,001 crore, according to an order issued by Harmander Singh, Principal Secretary to Government.
The order said that Managing Director of Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) had emphasised that that restoration of Chennai waterways has been at the top of the agenda of the State government, an eco-restoration plan for Cooum and Adyar rives has been prepared to rejuvenate the river’s eco-system.
The major implementation of restoring the rivers has been taken up by Departments such as Metrowater; Greater Chennai Corporation; Public Works Department; Commissionerate of Municipal Administration; Directorate of Town Panchayats; Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board and Department of Rural Development in the project area where Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust is entrusted with coordinating and monitoring the projects.
Now, the State government has taken up the proposals of plugging of sewage outfalls in to the Buckingham Canal and its drains of Adyar and Cooum river basin in Chennai Metropolitan Area.
Detailed Project Reports
The order said that Detailed Project Reports are ready for ₹1,001 crore for three projects, including modular sewage treatment plants (STPs). In the second phase costing ₹1,370 crore, the inadequacies in the sewage infrastructure will be addressed in a comprehensive manner. With these initiatives the sewer network will be strengthened from the collection system to the final point of treatment. This will ensure that the entire sewage generated shall be collected and conveyed to STPs for treatment and safe disposal, the order said.