Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government would spend Rs 3,833.62 crore for its ambitious programme of restoring the Cooum River, which has become a sewage carrier over the last four decades, to its original glory.
The massive project, with a timeline of five years, would be undertaken by the Cooum River Restoration Trust (CRRT), said finance minister O Panneerselvam during his budget speech in the assembly on Thursday. The CRRT will continue to be the nodal agency for the programme. To begin with, a sum of Rs 500 crore will be allocated for the fiscal year 2014-15, the finance minister said.
The rising population and fast expanding infrastructure exert a huge pressure on the city environment,” Panneerselvam said. The project involves Rs 2,077.29 crore for relief and rehabilitation of affected families.
Chennai has three major waterways, including the Adyar, the Cooum and the man-made Buckingham canal. The government, as part of the restoration, has commenced plugging of 179 sewage outfalls out of the identified 337 outfalls which pollute the waterways at Rs 150 crore. “The works will be completed by 2015,” Panneerselvam said.
Bureau Report
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