Nearly 35 lakh households in municipal corporations and local bodies across the State will be provided with water tap connections in phases.
This was one of the announcements made in the Assembly by Municipal Administration Minister K.N. Nehru during the debate on the demand for grants for the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department on Tuesday. Of the 74 lakh households in the corporations and the local bodies, excluding Chennai, nearly 39 lakh had been given water connections.
In Chennai, nearly 8.24 lakh household connections had so far been given, as against the total of 10.94 lakh buildings. Work would be completed in the merged areas by June 2022. This year, work would be taken up to create drinking water supply networks in Semmencheri and Neelankarai at a cost of ₹89 crore, and the project would be completed in five years, he said.
Underground sewerage networks would take off at a cost of ₹2,056 crore in 17 added areas of Chennai, including Kottivakkam, Palavakkam, Puzhal, Kadapakkam, Uthandi and Okkiyam Thoraipakkam. A detailed project report would be prepared to upgrade the old sewer infrastructure in Chennai’s core areas.
Schemes would be initiated for drinking water improvement works to the tune of ₹151 crore in the Tiruvarur and Karur municipalities, Mr. Nehru said. More municipal corporations and municipalities in places such as Hosur, Mannargudi and Aruppukottai would be covered with the underground drainage network.
Several combined drinking water schemes would be taken up in districts such as Dindigul, Ranipet, Cuddalore, Tiruchi and Madurai. For the benefit of four lakh residents, combined drinking water supply schemes would be implemented in Tiruvarur at a cost of ₹880 crore with the Kollidam as the source. Water would be sourced from the Cauvery to implement the ₹5,800-crore combined water supply scheme for four districts, including Vellore and Tiruvannamalai. About 50 lakh residents were expected to benefit from it. A desalination plant would be opened in Ramanathapuram.
This year, 600 waterbodies would be desilted at a cost of ₹460 crore. The Minister said steps would be taken to construct check-dams to save floodwater in consultation with the Department of Water Resources.
