Chiselling Chennai into shape, Ver 2.0 Premium

Residents of Chennai Metropolitan Area demand resilient reconstruction projects after floods, focusing on infrastructure, waterbodies, and drainage systems.

On December 4, 2023, more than 50% of the buildings were flooded at Varadharajapuram on the Outer Ring Road, south-west of the core city. Among them were a public library, a fair price shop and an e-seva centre. Library books were damaged; the essential items meant for public distribution were dumped in a pit. Cyclone Michaung had eroded roads, damaged infrastructure, flooded 1,500 homes, affecting the lives and livelihood of about 20,000 residents. One month after the cyclone, residents have started a campaign to reconstruct the damaged infrastructure, demanding that the government make the area flood-resilient. This initiative sets an example for other residents, as various departments have started discussing resilient reconstruction projects after the floods in the Chennai Metropolitan Area.

V. Rajasekaran, president of the Federation of Varadharajapuram Welfare Associations, said the residents had resolved to campaign for reconstruction of infrastructure to improve resilience. “We met the IIT representative on the Tiruppugazh committee on flood mitigation on January 11, requesting a suggestion for an alternative route to divert water from the Chembarambakkam lake. We demanded desilting of the lake; construction of a retaining wall along the Adyar; an increase in the height of the existing wall by 4 feet; and setting up of sewage treatment plants along the river. We demanded cement concrete roads, and redesigning of the Outer Ring Road bridge across the Adyar. We need more funds for roads, parks, and drains.”

Seven weeks after the floods at Thoraipakkam in ward 193 of the Greater Chennai Corporation, residents conducted an audit of the damaged infrastructure, pointing to the delay in repairing minor damage. A. Francis, president of the Federation of Thoraipakkam Residents’ Welfare Associations, said the play area in the Anand Nagar Park had been out of bounds for children for 54 days because of the delay in removal of slush accumulated during the floods. “Senior citizens have stopped visiting the park after the floods,” he said. Many residents of the area around the Pallikaranai marsh, in the vicinity of the Information Technology Corridor, have demanded resilient reconstruction projects based on public consultations.

Starting January 25, area sabha meetings are held in 2,000 localities, covering 426 square kilometres of the Chennai Corporation and other local bodies in the Chennai Metropolitan Area. Residents want to discuss resilient reconstruction projects at these meetings. Even as funds for many of the resilient reconstruction projects have not been sanctioned yet, Corporation officials said work on civic infrastructure was expected to be taken up in a few weeks with the civic body’s own resources. External funding for long-term projects is expected to be sanctioned in a few months. Corporation Commissioner J. Radhakrishnan has ordered officials to restore roads, drains, and other infrastructure damaged in the floods before implementing major projects to improve resilience.

“We will construct shutter-cum-pumping arrangements at 150 locations to mitigate flooding,” said Corporation Chief Engineer S. Rajendiran. When Gagandeep Singh Bedi was the Commissioner, the Corporation had implemented such projects to successfully mitigate flooding, based on the themes of Singara Chennai 2.0 that intends to give priority to ecology, culture, lifestyle, and infrastructure. The purpose of Singara Chennai 2.0, launched in 2021 by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, was to redesign and redevelop Chennai as a global destination for liveability and sustainability. After Cyclone Michaung, residents have demanded changes in the projects proposed on the basis of the Singara Chennai 2.0 themes — city beautification; heritage; culture and arts; accessibility and inclusivity; education, health, and wellness; transport and mobility; e-governance and innovation; and rethinking urban spaces.

The residents at the area sabha meetings have been demanding projects for resilient reconstruction. For instance, the tussle between the residents’ associations and the Corporation on the issue of the eco-park on 100 acres of the Perungudi dump in the Pallikaranai marsh has intensified after the cyclone. While the Corporation has adopted the ‘urban forestry concept with wetland and mounds’ to assuage the residents’ fears about flood mitigation, residents have demanded the removal of all encroachments in the marsh and its restoration.

“Residents were vocal in demanding the complete restoration of the Pallikaranai marsh and Velachery lake at the area sabha meeting held on January 25,” said S. Kumararaja, of Save Pallikaranai Marshland. “The entire Pallikaranai marsh should be declared a protected area under the Forest Act. All the legal and illegal encroachments should be removed from the marsh, as ordered by the National Green Tribunal,” he said.