Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday urged the officials to expedite the implementation of flood prevention projects and finish them before the onset of northeast monsoon while at the same time ensuring that the quality of the work was not compromised.
He inspected the work being carried out in various places in Kancheepuram district. Minister for Water Resources Duraimurugan, and Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises T.M. Anbarasan accompanied the Chief Minister.
An official release said Mr. Stalin inspected the projects being implemented at a cost of ₹120.75 crore in the district, mainly to prevent heavy flooding in Mudichur and Varadarajapuram areas. The projects being implemented are intended to permanently address the flooding problem in these areas.
This included the construction of a new covered canal between the Thanthikal canal and surplus water canal of Porur lake at a cost of ₹16.7 crore. He inspected the work being done to enhance the surplus water canal of Porur lake at a cost of ₹34 crore.
Apart from these, he inspected the work being done at a cost of ₹70.05 crore to prevent flooding of certain localities along the Adyar near Tambaram. This included the construction of a new canal from Somangalam tributary of the Adyar and the work to increase the water carrying capacity of the river in a particular stretch.
Official sources said the Chief Minister had instructed them to complete the work latest by the end of September. “Two phases of flood-prevention projects are planned. The first phase of work, which is being implemented at a cost of ₹120.75 crore, is planned in such a way that they will have maximum impact in preventing floods, particularly in Iyappanthangal and surrounding areas that are flood prone. It is these works the Chief Minister inspected today,” a senior official said.
The official added that the Phase Two of work, which will involve more interdepartmental coordination, will take more time to be implemented.
K. Selvaperunthagai, Sriperumbudur MLA; Sandeep Saxena, Additional Chief Secretary, Water Resources Department; and M. Aarthi, Collector, Kancheepuram district, were present.
