Underground drainage project to start at three Tambaram localities

The residents of Sembakkam, Chitlapakkam, and Madambakkam are heaving a sigh of relief after the Tamil Nadu government approved the Tambaram Corporation’s proposal for implementing the underground drainage project.

The Tambaram Corporation was formed by merging five municipalities and five town panchayats, the underground drainage had been completed in Tambaram, Pallavaram, Chromepet, and Hasthinapuram. The project, initiated at Pammal and Anakaputhur by the Tambaram Corporation, is about to be completed.

A comprehensive detailed project report was prepared for the underground drainage in 12 wards of Chitlapakkam, Sembakkam, and Madambakkam. The underground drainage in Chitlapakkam would cover wards 34, 43, and 44; Sembakkam wards 39, 40, 41, 42, and a part of ward 66; and Madambakkam wards 67, 68, 69, and 70.

Work in progress

A senior official of the Tambaram Corporation gave details of the ₹750-crore underground drainage project to be executed in the three localities. He said that of the 70 wards located in five zones of the Corporation, 38 wards have the underground drainage, and the work is in progress in 11 wards of Pammal and Anakaputhur.

In Pammal and Anakaputhur, the total cost of the project was ₹211 crore and the drainage would run to a length of 100 km. The underground drainage project for Pallavaram and Chromepet was executed at a cost of ₹120 crore to a length of 200 km and for Tambaram East and West, it was executed at a total cost of ₹160 crore.

A technical survey is in progress in 12 wards of Sembakkam, Chitlapakkam, and Madambakkam. It is expected to be completed by June-end. Then, the work would be launched, the official said.

According to the detailed project report, prepared by Royal HaskoningDHV through Tamilnadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services for the three localities, along with the 15 panchayats proposed to be merged with the Tambaram Corporation, the total cost worked out to ₹2,915 crore.

Treatment plant at Madambakkam

The Tambaram Corporation has planned to construct a 26-million litre per day sewage treatment plant at Madambakkam for treating the sewage from the eight sewage pumping stations.

These pumping stations would be set up at Tellis Avenue in Sembakkam, Airport Colony in Hasthinapuram, Nuthancherry, Nanmangalam Lake, and Sudarshan Nagar in Madambakkam, Rajakilpakkam, Agaramthen, and Selaiyur.

As part of the project, the Corporation would set up micro-sewage pumping stations at 20 locations in the 12 wards and link these micro-sewage pumping stations to the eight pumping stations for better evacuation and prevention of wastewater overflow.

The micro-pumping stations are proposed to be constructed at Annai Theresa Nagar, Thirumalai Nagar, Nuthancherry Main Road and Agaramthen Main Road. All these facilities are planned for connecting 50,472 sewage connections in the three wards.

While Corporation officials are readying a road map for executing the project expeditiously, the residents are happy that the project has finally been approved.

P. Viswanathan, convenor, Chitlapakkam Residents’ Association Coordination Committee, says Chitlapakkam, Sembakkam, and Madambakkam have become popular residential localities as they are close to the Tambaram railway station and the Chennai airport.

The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has been approving housing sites in these areas since 1995. Chitlapakkam residents have been demanding underground drainage since 2011. Its absence has resulted in degradation of the watertable, mosquito menace, and damage to the huge waterbodies.

Without any underground drainage, the residents have been letting sewage into the open storm water drain network. This has allowed mosquitoes to breed and posed health hazards. The Chitlapakkam, Sembakkam and Nanmangalam lakes have been damaged by the sewage discharged from the residential localities. Only an underground drainage project in the three localities would save the waterbodies, Mr. Viswanathan says.

Inspection completed

C. Jagan, councillor of Ward 43, says the Tambaram MLA highlighted the absence of the underground drainage network at Chitlapakkam and finally, the project report was prepared. Recently, a technical assessment team completed the inspection in Chitlapakkam. The project would be completed in a year, he says.

T. Murugesan, a resident of Madambakkam, says that sewage ingress through the household septic tanks spoilt the watertable in the localities.

Activists have urged the Corporation to execute the project in such a way that the residents do not face any hardship during the rains.