Chennai Corporation yet to begin cleaning 19 waterbodies slated for restoration in current year

Greater Chennai Corporation delays cleaning waterbodies due to dewatering process, with only 3 out of 42 completed as of June 10.

The Greater Chennai Corporation has yet to begin cleaning 19 of the 42 waterbodies it planned to tackle this year under various schemes. While work is underway on 20 of these water bodies, only three have been completed as of June 10.

An engineer of the Stormwater Drain (SWD) Department of the GCC, responsible for the cleaning, attributed the delay to the prolonged process of dewatering the ponds before cleaning and deepening them. Dewatering is done by draining the water from the waterbodies to the nearest SWD or canal, he said.

Jayshree Vencatesan, Managing Trustee at Care Earth Trust, said that dewatering is one effective methods of cleaning. However, she emphasised the importance of local bodies conducting surveys of water bodies and following the survey recommendations for dewatering. This approach would prevent excessive removal of earth and help water bodies retain rainwater, preventing them from becoming inundated during heavy showers, she added.

As per the data, the Singara Chennai 2.0 scheme includes the restoration of 12 ponds spanning 32,424 square meters with an estimated cost of ₹9.07 crore. Of these, three ponds covering 3,211 square meters with a budget of ₹1.12 crore have been completed and work on nine ponds covering 29,213 square meters with an estimated cost of ₹7.95 crore is ongoing.

However, other ponds are yet to be taken up for restoration work: under the Asia Development Bank - Global Environment Facility Grant, one pond covering an area of 603,700 square meters with an estimated budget of ₹55.34 crore has been commissioned, but no work has commenced on this yet.

Under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0 scheme, five ponds covering 909,657 square meters with an estimated cost of ₹14.48 crore have been taken up for restoration. Work is underway in four ponds covering 347,286 square meters with a budget of ₹10.28 crore, while work is yet to start on one pond covering 562,371 square meters with an estimated cost of ₹4.20 crore.

The Singara Chennai 2.0 Mission (Phase II) accounts for 24 ponds with a total area of 319,975 square meters and an estimated cost of ₹13.56 crore. Of these, work is in progress for seven ponds covering 225,657 square meters with a budget of ₹5.80 crore, while 17 ponds covering 94,318 square meters with an estimated cost of ₹7.76 crore are yet to be cleaned.