Lack of money for stormwater drain network ups flood risk

‘Officials unable to convince funding agencies for the past few years’

The proposal for the Rs. 3,000 crore project to improve stormwater drains was submitted in 2012. A view of the Kosasthalaiyar river.

Delay in getting funds for creating a network of stormwater drains and canals in Kosasthalaiyar basin and Kovalam basin continues to be a challenge to monsoon preparedness in most parts of the city.

The Kosasthalaiyar basin comprises areas such as Tiruvottiyur, Manali and Madhavaram, while the Kovalam basin consists of neighbourhoods along the East Coast Road and Rajiv Gandhi Salai (OMR).

Even as Chennai Corporation officials have claimed that the city is prepared for the monsoon, no improvement in stormwater drain or canal network has been made in the past five years after the proposal for the ₹3,000-crore project was made in 2012.

Areas such as Tiruvottiyur, Manali, Madhavaram, Perungudi and Sholinganallur are likely to face floods like the one in 2015.

Ex-councillors of some wards in northern and southern parts of the city said the delay in getting funding for the project was affecting many neighbourhoods in Chennai.

DPR in final stage

“The detailed project report for stormwater drains in Kosasthalaiyar basin is in the final stages of preparation. We are exploring funding options. We have proposed to the Asian Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency,” said a senior Corporation official.

Similarly, the Corporation has finalised the detailed project report for stormwater drains in Kovalam basin.

“The DPR is being verified by KfW, the German development bank,” said the official. According to Chennai Corporation sources, officials of the civic agency have not been able to convince the funding agencies for the project in the past few years.

The original proposal covered 1,055 km of drains to be constructed in the four basins covering at least 8 added zones as part of the measures to prevent water-logging. Work on Adyar and Cooum basin started a few years ago with funding from the World Bank.