Fund crunch halts restoration of Chitlapakkam lake

Fund crunch halts restoration of Chitlapakkam lake

Komal.Gautham@timesgroup.com

Chennai:12.11.2020

The state government’s ₹25crore eco-restoration of the Chitlapakkam lake has been halted due to fund crunch. The public works department had proposed the project last year after residents began de-silting and restoring the lake on their own.

Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had visited the lake and sanctioned the project. Work began in February but was stopped due to Covid. In June, the contractor started work again but then stopped it.

“We held a meeting last week and presented before the state government the developments. The government has sanctioned ₹2 crore now and we have given the cheque to the contractor. Work will begin after Diwali. By March next year, it will be complete,” said an official.

Under the project, the PWD plans to strengthen of the bund, desilt and deepen the tank, remove garbage, lay a footpath, build macro drains and stop sewage inflow among others. “We are on the right track. Earlier, instead of removing the legacy waste we had planned to cover it with grass. However, after residents protested, we decided to remove the garbage,” said an official.

Residents contented that desilting has yet to be completed and sewage inlets have not been plugged. They said work was had made little progress.

“The drain constructed has already cracked. They haven’t completed desilting and with the monsoon on, we are worried that water will not percolate. This may create water scarcity in the summer. Had they stopped sewage inflow and completed desilting and deepening of the lake, water would have filled it,” said Sunil Jayaram from Chitlapakkam Rising, the movement behind the restoration project. “Sembakkam lake is filled with sewage and not rainwater. We do not want the same in Chitlapakkam lake.”

An official said the PWD understood concerns of the residents. “But engineering work cannot be completed overnight. We have removed a portion of the legacy waste. And we need to fill that area with sand and debris. We are awaiting permission from the government to remove the remaining waste. We have explained all this to the residents,” the official said.