Tamil Nadu Assembly announcement: What is in it for Chennai

CHENNAI: From upgrading schools, roads and parks to better quality facilities at crematoria and slaughterhouse, the slew of announcements made by Municipal Administration and Water Supply Minister KN Nehru on Saturday contain a lot of projects and proposals for the capital city.

Here are a list of some of the important ones:

School infrastructure development:

Greater Chennai Corporation to upgrade school buildings at a cost of Rs 35 crore and Rs 30 crore has been allocated to construct 16 new school buildings

Smart classrooms:

100 new smart classrooms will be set up at an estimated cost of Rs 2.20 crore to improve the learning process for students.

Improvement of parks and playgrounds:

14 new parks and 6 modern playgrounds will be constructed at a cost of Rs 10 crore aiming at enhancing green spaces and urban environment

Traffic management:

In order to reduce congestion, flyovers will be constructed at Ennore highway junction for a cost of Rs 75 crore.

Bridge demolition and reconstruction of new bridge at a cost of Rs 8.2 crore between Kadumbadi Amman Koil and Tondiarpet area.

Broken Bridge at Besant Nagar will be demolished and new bridge will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 4.38 crore.

Bridges will be constructed at the cost of Rs 21 crore and will be set up at three places OMR Venkatesapuram Elango Nagar, Maniammai Street - Veeramani Road and Aringar Anna Road - Pandian Road, across the Buckingham canal to connect OMR and ECR.

Restoration of waterbodies:

Rehabilitation of waterbodies to increase water capacity and groundwater levels. 10 waterbodies will be rejuvenated at an estimated cost of Rs 12.50 crore.

Waste management:

500 battery-operated vehicles and 2,500 metallic compactor garbage collection tanks with 1,100 litre capacity will be procured at a cost of Rs 119.65 crore for collection of domestic waste.

Parks:

15 sponge parks (green spaces in pond-like structure) will be established in 50 parks with minimal concrete and plenty of greenery with the aim of raising the underground water level by storing rainwater underground without wasting it in urban areas at an estimated cost of Rs 15 crore.

New auditorium:

In continuation of the Kalaignar's centenary celebrations, a new auditorium will be constructed at a cost of Rs 75 crore at the Ripon Building complex.

Health walkaway:

As a step for beautification of the city, health walkaway was constructed in Besant Nagar. As this corridor is very popular with the people, GCC has planned to propose such facilities in MKB Nagar Central Avenue Road, West Avenue Road, Meenambal Road, Satyamurthy Nagar, Ritherdon Road, RA Puram 2nd Main Road, Nanganallur 4th, 5th and 6th Main Road and Old Thiru Vi Ka Bridge.

STEM Park:

Science, Technology, Environment and Mathematics (STEM) Park for students and general public in area under Greater Chennai Corporation.

A science park will be set up on an experimental basis at an estimated cost of Rs 5 crore to learn about environment and mathematics.

Rainwater tanks:

Rainwater tanks will be set up at 15 locations at an estimated cost of Rs 18 crore to collect rainwater through rainwater tanks in low-lying areas in Chennai and quickly discharge the collected water through rainwater channels through high-capacity pumps.

Upgrading Anna Nagar Tower Park to international standards:

Dr Visvesvaraya Tower Park, also known as Anna Nagar Tower Park, in Zone 8 of Greater Chennai Corporation will be developed to international standards with public-private participation (PPP) mode.

Upgrading slaughterhouse in Pulianthope:

The Perambur Barracks Road slaughterhouse in Pulianthope under Chennai Corporation's area will be upgraded with modern facilities at a cost of Rs 45 crore for the benefit of the general public.

Modern crematorium set-up:

Seven new modern crematoria (LPG) will be set up by Greater Chennai Corporation at an estimated cost of Rs 12 crores.

Revamping water treatment infrastructure:

A comprehensive project report will be prepared to revamp the aged water treatment plants, enhancing their operational efficiency beyond 100 years of service.

DPR for water supply in newly added areas:

Detailed project reports are being prepared to facilitate the provision of water supply and sewage management infrastructure to the areas added to Chennai Corporation in 2011.

Improving drinking water distribution:

Due to the inability to treat seawater from Minjur as potable drinking water, areas like Tiruvottiyur, Manali, and Madhavaram face a challenging situation where reliable drinking water supply cannot be provided. Considering future drinking water requirements, a new drinking water distribution canal will be laid.

Using Metro Water assets to improve revenue:

An assessment will be conducted of the immovable properties of the Metro Water Board that have remained unused for a long time. The feasibility of utilising these properties to generate revenue for the board will be explored.

Water meters for large buildings:

Steps will be taken to install water meters for approximately one lakh commercial establishments, multi-story residential complexes, and mixed-use residential-commercial buildings in Greater Chennai, with private sector participation, as per the 2022 Water Meter Policy.

Distribution stations at Pallipattu and Tiruvanmiyur for 24x7 drinking water supply:

To ensure 24x7 drinking water supply to the areas served by the water distribution stations in Pallipattu and Tiruvanmiyur, which fall under Metro Water Board's Division XIII (Adyar), various projects will be implemented with international funding. These include replacing old, damaged pipes, laying pipes in streets that don’t have them, and installing water meters in the connections.

Odour control in sewage pumping stations:

In the Greater Chennai area, there have been complaints from the public about the foul odour emanating from some of the 342 sewage pumping stations. To address this issue, advanced equipment worth Rs 50 crore will be installed to control the stench. This will be done in compliance with the regulations of the Central Pollution Control Board and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to ensure air quality standards are maintained at the sewage pumping/treatment stations.

Laying pipeline from Thervoy Kandigai reservoir to Puzhal lake:

Water from the Thervoy Kandigai Reservoir is currently transferred to Puzhal Lake through the Kandaleru-Poondi open canal, and then distributed. This process results in significant water loss due to leakage, evaporation, and other factors. Therefore, a project valued at Rs 31 crore will be undertaken to lay a pipeline that will directly carry water from Thervoy Kandigai reservoir to the water treatment plant in Puzhal.

Review all newly implemented drinking water projects:

All drinking water projects implemented in areas annexed to Chennai city will be reviewed and restructured. These areas will be divided into sub-zones and consultants will be appointed to explore the feasibility of providing 24x7 drinking water supply. The Mugalivakkam drinking water supply project will be taken as a pilot project for this initiative.