The Tamil Nadu government has allocated ₹500 crore for the Singara Chennai 2.0 for its fourth year. The scheme is implemented jointly by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB).
The civic body will soon decide the projects to be executed in FY 2024-25, sources said. The GCC Budget will be presented on February 21, Wednesday.
Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu, while presenting the Tamil Nadu Budget on Monday, February 19, said ₹500 crore would be allocated to Singara Chennai 2.0 for FY 2024-25. Previously, ₹440.78 crore was earmarked for the project in FY 2021-22, ₹382.40 crore in FY 2022-23, and ₹356.26 crore in FY 2023-24. The GCC has so far taken up 1,166 projects, which account for ₹1,146 crore of the total allocation for the scheme.
In the scheme’s first year, FY 2021-22, a total of 200 projects – themed around heritage and culture, beautification, education, cleanliness, greenery, wellness and safety, water security, smart civic solutions, and tourism – were executed. The projects were grouped into Ezhilmigu Chennai (dynamic lighting of heritage buildings, road redesigning, landscaping under bridges, fountains, pathways for persons with disabilities etc.,), Pasumai Chennai (eco-parks, urban forests, playfields etc.,), and Neermigu Chennai. Of these, 185 projects, worth ₹440.78 crore, were completed, and 14 are ongoing, according to the GCC.
In the subsequent fiscal, the GCC started 719 projects, including the renovation of Victoria Hall, road expansions, establishment of 92 parks, 57 sponge parks, and three animal birth control centres, modernisation of slaughterhouses, a rainwater harvesting project, and a fish market in Besant Nagar. At present, 620 projects, worth ₹222.73 crore, have been completed, and 81 are ongoing.
In FY 2023-24, the civic body took up 247 projects, worth ₹356 crore. Of these, 244 are ongoing, including the Integrated Storm Water Drain (ISWD) in the Kosasthalaiyar basin, estimated at a cost of ₹181 crore. The pending projects also include redesigning 109 roads, establishing 19 parks and 37 playfields, and restoring 24 waterbodies.
