The State government has approved and given ‘administrative sanction’ for the second phase of the underground drainage scheme, which will be implemented in 24 wards of the Corporation on an outlay of ₹289.01 crore to check the pollution of the Tamirabharani, the only water source for three southern districts.
Addressing the public hearing held here on Friday evening to elicit the public opinion and suggestions on the next phase of the underground drainage project, City Engineer and Commissioner (In-Charge) V. Narayanan Nair said the underground drainage scheme was implemented in some of the wards of the Corporation a decade ago at the cost of ₹ 52 crore, which was equally shared by the State government and the urban civic body.
The scheme would be implemented in wards 1 to 7 and 39 to 55 under Thatchanallur Zone by laying the pipes for about 234 km on an outlay of ₹ 289.01 crore.
Moreover, the government had given an ‘in principle approval’ for executing the third phase of the scheme also in the remaining uncovered wards at the cost of ₹315.04 crore.
“We’ve decided to seek financial assistance from Asian Development Bank for paying the Corporation’s share while the remaining portion of the project will be shared by the State and the Central governments. As we’ve obtained the ‘administrative sanction’ for the second phase of the project, we’ll float tenders shortly to select the firm executing the scheme. We expect the State Government to clear the third phase also in near future,” Dr. Nair said.
“Precisely, the underground drainage scheme, once executed, will completely check the mixing-up of drainage in the Tamirabharani at 16 places within the city,” Dr. Nair noted, while assuring the participants that their views would be duly recorded and forwarded to the Tamil Nadu government.
When a section of the participants raised doubts over the transparency in the execution of the project in the absence of elected representatives, the City Engineer assured that the stakeholders would be aware of every step of the scheme, quality of the materials to be used and other information.
