The traffic police have denied permission for stormwater drain work on 29 key roads in the city.
The roads include Santhome High Road, L.B. Road, North Usman Road, Dr. Nair Road, Thyagaraya Road, South Boag Road, Bazulla Road, Valluvar Kottam High Road, Gandhi Mandapam Road, Triplicane High Road, St. Mary’s Road, R.K. Mutt Road, Arcot Road and Brick Kiln Road.
Citing hindrance to traffic movement, the police have been denying permission to many works.
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In July, work in many watersheds resumed after the Corporation terminated the contract on many stretches. The watersheds where work is under way include the Cooum, Adyar and Central Buckingham Canal. Works in Royapuram and Kolathur have been completed.
A few months ago, officials informed the Chennai Corporation council that 52 projects in the Cooum watershed were terminated because of traffic police restrictions.
The original deadline for completion of facilities that drain into the Cooum was October 28, 2010. The civic body has now extended the deadline to March 31, 2014.
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The police have so far not permitted contractors to carry out civic work during the day, on key stretches, because of traffic congestion. The Corporation has completed around 70 per cent of a total of 553 km of stormwater drains, to be constructed under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.
The Corporation and the public works department are implementing the Rs. 1,448-crore scheme for flood prevention. Of 1,203 SWD works in 12 watersheds proposed across the city, a number of works on key stretches have already been dropped because of problems pertaining to shifting of utilities.