Ahead of State budget, resident welfare associations demand focus on civic infrastructure

RWAs urge the Chennai government to prioritize long-overdue infrastructure improvements ahead of the upcoming Tamil Nadu Budget.

With the Tamil Nadu and the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) Budget announcements fast approaching, some Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) have put forth a charter of expectations, urging the authorities to focus on long-pending basic infrastructure works.

Harsha Koda of the Federation of OMR Resident Associations (FOMRRA) alleged that residents of Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) had been waiting for more than 15 years for basic civic amenities such as piped water supply and underground sewage connections. He said many roads also lack proper stormwater drains (SWD), citing the Model School Road in Sholinganallur, where nearly 7,000 apartments lack a functional SWD system, resulting in frequent flooding during the monsoon.

Across the OMR stretch, which has an estimated one lakh apartments, stormwater drains have been laid only in a few smaller lanes and remain largely unconnected, making them incapable of handling heavy or continuous rainfall, he said. Mr. Koda further said that despite repeated budgetary allocations for stormwater and drainage projects by the Tamil Nadu government and the GCC since 2016, implementation has been inadequate.

He added that Sholinganallur, a key part of Chennai’s IT corridor and a major contributor through property and sales taxes, has not received commensurate infrastructure investment to address these long-pending issues.

The Alliance of Resident Welfare Associations has called on the GCC to allocate funds in the interim Budget for a technical audit and rectification of stormwater drains, restoration of roads, and completion of pending infrastructure works.

The association also sought transparency in contracts and expenditure, adherence to quality standards in water management, and the setting up of a swift grievance redress mechanism to reduce flood risk.