Coimbatore Corporation has written to the Central Government seeking a sum of Rs. 55 crore to clean the Big Tank, Commissioner G. Latha said on Tuesday at a seminar organised by the Corporation and the Residents Awareness Association of Coimbatore (RAAC) on rainwater harvesting here.
It had made the proposal under the National Lake Conservation Programme. As for the other seven tanks under its maintenance, the civic body had just identified the right scheme to obtain the funds.
It needed support from elected representatives to push through the proposal to get the funds.
The Corporation also needed funds for rejuvenating and maintaining the tanks because it was not one of its core functions and it did not have the requisite expertise.
Ms. Latha asked industries to work with the Corporation and other government agencies under their corporate social responsibility programmes to improve the ground water table in the city. She had asked the Siruthuli, an NGO, to rejuvenate 200 rainwater harvesting structures across the city.
Sekhar Raghavan of Rain Centre, Chennai, said that construction of rainwater harvesting structures in Chennai in the past had led to improvement in ground water and also resulted in improvement in quality of water.
At present, through the Rain Centre, he was engaged in auditing the rainwater harvesting structures in buildings that were under the control of the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department.
Mahendra Ramdass of Mahendra Pumps shared his experience on the benefits of building rainwater harvesting structures in his factory. C.R. Swaminathan, president, RAAC welcomed the gathering. R. Raveendran, Honorary Secretary, RAAC, proposed the vote of thanks.
