Flood mitigation projects yet to be completed

Chennai: Post 2015 December floods, government announced flood mitigation projects to a tune of Rs 578 crore for urban areas coming under Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts.

Of the total sanctioned amount Rs 200 crore was earmarked for stormwater drain projects in Chennai. While the state municipal authorities claim that 70 per cent of the works have been completed and Chennai can breathe easy during the ensuing monsoon, civic activists and residents welfare association differ with the officials.

“Our locality is vulnerable to monsoon flood and related woes as the canals in Pallavaram that flooded last December are yet to be desilted. After submitting petitions to district collector and state PWD secretary seeking desilting of canals, the local municipal authorities removed the water hyacinth and accumulated plastic waste, but the flooding can be prevented only if the waterways are desilted,” said M. Hari, a resident of Pammal.

Informed official sources also admitted that several flood mitigation projects announced after the December floods are still a non-starter. In August, the state PWD minister Edapaddy Palanichamy announced that a total of six dams would be constructed at an estimate of Rs 33 crore in Kancheepuram and Tiruvannamalai districts.

Similarly check dams were also proposed for Tiruvallur districts, but till date works have not commenced on these announcements, sources said adding that the basic works like desilting of existing storm water drains and construction of new structures have only been completed in Chennai.

Chennai and Kancheepuram can withstand rains up to 15 cm per day but sudden deluge will be a tough task for the government as there is no integrated flood alleviation system in place. All major flood mitigation proposals including strengthening of Kovalam catchment basin works proposed at a cost of '400 crore is yet to take off.

Efforts to avail response from municipal administration secretary K. Phanindhar Reddy and Chennai mayor Saidai S. Duraisamy proved futile.

Respite from Tamil Nadu Water Supply & Sewerage Board - (source TWAD)

Up to June 2016, out of 42.55 lakh buildings in corporations (except Chennai) and municipalities, 35.09 lakh buildings (25,650 government buildings and 34.84 lakh private buildings) have been provided with rainwater structures. Rain water harvesting in the water bodies in ULBs (urban local bodies) have also been given major thrust. Out of 1,482 ponds and temple tanks, 716 have already been provided with RWH structures.

With this drive, 82 per cent of buildings and 48.31 per cent of ponds and tanks have been covered up to June 2016. The harvestable rain water from buildings and water bodies in TN is calculated at 4.82 tmc ft which gets recharged into the acquifers. During the year 2016-17, RWH structures will be taken up in the remaining buildings, ponds and tanks in ULBs.