An initiative to produce electricity from non-degradable municipal waste would be implemented across the State soon, Minister for Municipal Administration, K.N. Nehru said here on Friday.
In an informal chat with reporters after inspecting the desilting works taken up on water courses in flood-prone areas in the city, Mr.Nehru said that a programme to segregate municipal waste at source and utilise non- degradable waste for generating electricity would be implemented. The programme would be modelled on the lines of a project implemented in Indore, which has pioneered the concept. “Our Secretary has visited Indore to study the project and we’ll soon replicate it here,” Mr. Nehru said.
Referring to the ongoing desilting works, Mr.Nehru said that water courses along all areas which were affected due to the inundation during the monsoon last year were being desilted. Apart from Tiruchi city, the works were underway in various parts of the district where farmers were affected due to inundation.
In Tiruchi district, 90 works have been taken up at an estimated cost of ₹18.75 crore under the Special Desilting Scheme to remove silt accumulation from various stretches of rivers and canals, including Koraiyar, Ariyar, Uyyakondan, Kudumuritti, Nandiyar, Kodingal, Panguni, Cholagampatti and Ananda Cauvery. The works would cover a total length of about 232.59 km.
The Minister, who inspected the works on Ariyaru, Koraiyar and Kudamuritti and Kondingal canals, instructed the officials to complete the work within the targeted date of May 31. He also instructed the officials to remove encroachments and cover the full width of the waterbodies during the desilting drive.
Answering a query, Mr. Nehru said steps would be taken by the WRD in association with the Forest Department to plant tree saplings along the desilted stretches to prevent encroachments.
K. Manivasan, Principal Secretary, Adi Dravida Welfare; S. Sivarasu, Collector; S. Ramamoorthy, Chief Engineer, Water Resources Department, Tiruchi region; M. Anbazhagan, Mayor; and other officials accompanied the Minister during the inspection.
According to sources in the WRD, about 72% of the works have been completed so far. Seventeen of the works have been fully completed and the remaining works will be completed by the month-end.
