Minister for Municipal Administration K.N. Nehru, Revenue Minister K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran, and Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu, on Saturday inaugurated the first phase of the Tamirabharani Combined Drinking Water Project for Arupukottai, Virudhunagar, and Sattur towns.
They laid the foundation stone for a ₹297.25-crore underground drainage project for Aruppukottai town and distributed benefits worth ₹2.43 crore among 498 beneficiaries under various welfare programmes.
Water scheme
The Tamirabharani Combined Drinking Water project is being executed by Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD) at a cost of ₹444.71 crore. In the first phase, the work on laying the main pipeline for 110 km and feeder line for 35 km and construction of sumps had been completed. However, laying of distribution pipelines and providing house service connections in the three towns was under way. The work is expected to be completed by June.
Mr. Nehru said that his department had allocated ₹839 crore, including ₹584 crore for Aruppukottai, ₹109 crore of Rajapalayam, and ₹90 crore of Sivakasi Corporation in Virudhunagar district and work is under way.
Similarly, ₹94.78 crore had been allocated for the town panchayats in the district.
Recalling that TWAD Board was founded by former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi in 1972, he said that since then the Board had executed 544 drinking water schemes that benefited 4.53 crore people till three years ago.
“In the last three years, additional 2.35 crore people were getting benefits of new drinking water schemes,” he said.
Besides, renovation of old drinking water projects had been taken up.
Mr. Ramachandran said that inauguration of the first phase of the combined drinking water scheme would help in uninterrupted water supply to the three towns. He said that another water project at a cost of ₹1,360 crore to provide drinking water connections to houses in rural areas was being executed.
He appealed to the Municipal Administration Minister to provide ₹80 crore for renovation of the old Tamirabharani drinking water scheme of Virudhunagar district.
Mr. Thennarasu said that efforts would be made to execute a new combined drinking water scheme to benefit Kariyapatti and Malllankinaru town panchayats under Tiruchuli Assembly constituency.
UGD scheme
The new UGD scheme would cover all the 36 wards of Aruppukottai municipality. The project envisages construction of three pumping stations and seven lift pumping stations.
The UGD scheme will have a design capacity of collecting 15.05 million litres a day to cater to the projected population of the town in 2055. A new sewage treatment plant would be constructed at Sukkalanatham with a capacity to treat 13.24 MLD of sewage.
The work is expected to be completed in three years.
TWAD Board Managing Director V. Dhakshinamoorthi, Municipal Administration Director S. Sivarasu, Virudhunagar Collector V.P. Jayaseelan, Tenkasi MP Dhanush M. Kumar, MLAS A.R.R. Srinivasan, S. Thangapandian, G. Ashokan, and Sivakasi, Mayor I. Sangeetha, TWAD Board Chief Engineer Ayanan, and District Revenue Officer R. Rajendran were present.
