'Implement projects to stop flow of excess river water into sea'

CHENNAI: Pointing out a huge quantity of water flows into the sea from major rivers in the State, KN Nehru, municipal administration and water supply department minister, urged the Union government to implement projects so that water can be put into use.

“Around 300 TMC of water from Cauvery River goes into the sea. Similarly, water of South Pennar, Palar and other rivers also going to the sea. The Union government should implement pumping station projects to put the water into use,” Nehru said while inaugurating a national level conference on water and sewage management in Chennai on Monday.

He added that his government has envisioned projects keeping a vision upto 2031. The government is also implementing projects to recycle at least 20% of used water and cut water wastage by 15%.

“To attain higher standards in sewage management, sewage systems are important. Around 80% of the water goes as sewage every day. So, projects are being implemented to recycle the water after purification. Methane produced in sewage treatment plants are used for producing electricity and sludge is being used as fertiliser,” he explained.

He urged the Union government to provide exemption from getting permission from the courts for water supply projects similar to the exemption provided for National Highways Department. “Required permissions from the Union government agencies should be given hastily as 55% of the State population lives in urban areas. Sufficient time should be given to implement JAL Jeevan projects,” he averred.

While assuring timely payments to contractors, Nehru requested them to complete the work on time.

Several agencies likeChennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (Metro Water), Tamil Nadu Water and Drainage Board, Directorate of Municipal Administration and others participated in the conference.

Testing of supply scheme, leading to wastage: BJP

Potable water being wasted under the guise of ‘testing’ a new water supply scheme has prompted the BJP to complain to top officials including CM MK Stalin and municipal administration minister KN Nehru, as per the district president of the BJP’s government relations wing VSC Venketesan.

Venketesan said that tap connections provided under the Centre’s Amrut scheme in EVR Road and Sai Baba Road in Ward 46 of Vellore zone III were broken when drainage work was taken up under the Vellore smart city project.

However, “without repairing the broken taps and supply lines, the local body was wasting water – from the overhead tank at Bharathinagar - daily for over a month, claiming that supply lines were being tested” Venketesan said. “This issue is mainly because officials do not inspect projects undertaken by contractors who worked on their whim, thereby creating problems for residents.”

Corporation commissioner S Ashok Kumar said, “Checking the main, arterial and domestic lines is a tedious task which can only be undertaken in stretches. Only after this is done and roads are laid, will there be no cause for further leaks. However, the issue raised by Venketesan could only be answered by technical staff. I will look into it and do the needful.”