Chennai braces for rain, pond restoration stuck

GCC had awarded Rs 20-cr contract for work in six packages; NGO says not even 50% work over in six of 14 ponds.
The Puliyakeni pond in Velachery is covered by hyacinth.
The Puliyakeni pond in Velachery is covered by hyacinth.(Photo | P Ravikumar, EPS)
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CHENNAI: As Chennai gets ready for another round of intense rain, the Greater Chennai Corporation’s (GCC) initiative to restore 14 ponds to save the city from floods seems to have made little headway.

The civic body awarded contracts for the restoration work in six packages in 2023 and January 2024 at a total cost of Rs 20.47 crore under Singara Chennai 2.0 and Amrut 2.0. It’s been months since the nine-month deadline set for the completion of the projects lapsed, but no work has been carried out in at least five of the ponds.

A recent audit by city-based NGO Arappor Iyakkam has revealed delays and discrepancies in the work. During a field visit, TNIE also found that no restoration work had been carried out in ponds like Kosappur and Puliyakeni. Residents claimed that it has been over a year since any desilting or restoration work had been carried out there.

According to the audit held in November, restoration had started only in six of the 14 ponds and not even 50% work had been completed when the NGO inspected the spots.

The arrival of monsoon has raised concern as work on five ponds, including Kosappur in Manali zone, Puliyakeni in Adyar zone, Panchayat Main Road and Kilinjal in Perungudi zone, and Perumal Keni in Sholinganallur, is yet to begin.

The NGO also noted that the locations of three ponds are untraceable, questioning their very existence. The NGO sought a reply under the RTI Act for geotags to verify their locations but is awaiting response from the GCC. The restoration works include desilting, deepening ponds, bund strengthening, chain-link fencing and installing iron grills, among others.

Contract for Rs 1.99 crore was awarded to restore Kosappur pond in June 2023, but no progress had been made as on November 5, the report said. The situation is similar for other four ponds, including Puliyakeni which remains covered by hyacinth.

Projects where work has commenced, such as the restoration of Amullaivayal lake, have made only minimal progress.

M Radhakrishnan, a member of Arappor Iyakkam, expressed concern over the contradiction in project timelines. He called for penalties to be imposed on contractors failing to meet the deadline and said the GCC should ensure that no construction of parks or recreational facilities is carried out within waterbody areas as it could reduce storage capacity.

A senior corporation official told TNIE, “The city has 226 ponds, and each year, we focus on restoring a certain number of them. The delay in the restoration of ponds is primarily due to several challenges, including the need to prevent potential sewage outfall (inflow) before desilting can begin and to ‘dewater’ the ponds to tackle pollution. Additionally, complications such as boundary disputes and encroachments have hindered progress.”

He said restoration work will be prioritised, status of stalled projects will be checked and action taken.

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