Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday said the Central team’s endorsement of the manner in which the administration handled Cyclone Michaung and the Chennai floods, proved the government’s “efficient performance”.
In an interview with The Hindu, Mr. Stalin said the government would soon make public the report of the Thiruppugazh Committee on the long-term flood mitigation plans for Chennai and its surroundings. The government would also state the actions taken on the report and the status of the projects. “We are running an honest and transparent administration. We will also release a report on measures taken to control flood in Chennai and its neighbouring areas and the expenditure involved,” he said.
Asked if the government could have tackled the recent floods better, he said, “I always would like to do more for the people.”
Updating the status of the flood mitigation projects, he said the integrated stormwater drain (ISWD) project was completed for a length of 44.88 km along the Adyar and Cooum basin with ₹120 crore funding from the World Bank. Besides 50 km stormwater drain projects were implemented at a cost of ₹255 crore under Singara Chennai 2.0. In addition, 59.5 km project at a cost of ₹232 crore under State disaster management fund and 11 km project from the capital fund had been completed. The ₹700 crore projects reduced the damage in areas such as T. Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Ambattar, Valasaravakkam, Alandur and Pulianthope that suffered heavily during the 2015 flood.
“It is very vital to protect the entire marshland in Pallikaranai as it plays a pivotal role in mitigating the flood damage. We will certainly reevaluate the usage of areas around Pallikaranai marshland. The forest department has taken measures to protect and expand the marshland,” he added.
The Chief Minister said the administration was preparing the Third Master Plan incorporating schemes to mitigate damage in Pallikaranai marshland and areas around it. “This will certainly pave way for the improvement of waterbodies and marshlands around Chennai,” he said.
Mr. Stalin rejected the charge that the government was sluggish in removing encroachments. “It is the stand of the government that all encroachments should be removed. Waterbodies and river basins should be protected from illegal encroachments. They should be cleaned and expanded,” he said.
“We identified 350 encroachments and recovered 475.85 hectares in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu districts between 2021 and 2023. Similarly, 19,876 encroachments in waterbodies under the management of the Water Resources Department and 220.45 hectares have been recovered,” he said.
Mr. Stalin charged that the opposition, which issues statements confronting the government, never bothered to go to the field during the recent disaster. “They also did not involve themselves in relief works,” he charged.
An ISWD project in the basin of Kosasthalaiyar is being implemented using ₹3,440 crore from the Asian Development Bank. “We have completed 68% of the work. It will benefit people in Tiruvottiyur, Manali, Madhavaram and Manali,” he said.
A similar project is being implemented in the Kovalam basin with financial assistance of ₹1,714 crore from the KFW bank. It would benefit people from Nanganallur, Kannan Colony, Mayilai Balaji Nagar, Bhuvaneswari Nagar, Puzhuthiwalkam, Kannagi Nagar, MCN Nagar and Thoraipakkam. When the rest of the work is completed, it would benefit people of Indira Nagar, Neelankarai, Vettuvankeni, Chemmancheri and other areas of South Chennai. The work would substantially reduce floods when completed.
