Two decades on, estimate doubled but Tambaram drain project far from over

CHENNAI: When the civic body was upgraded to city municipal corporation in August 2021, the residents of Tambaram were hoping that the long-pending underground drainage project, which was announced 25 years ago, would finally be completed.

However, the works remain stalled while sewage is flowing on the streets. It was in 1998 that the government announced underground drainage (UGD) projects for Tambaram, Alandur, and Pallavaram. Of these, the work in Alandur started immediately and was completed in 2002, while it was over in 2010 in the case of Pallavaram. The government allotted Rs 70 crore for the project in Tambaram in 2000 and the work started soon afterward.

The locabody also asked the residents to join hands with it by contributing Rs 5,000 per house. After a few years, however, the work stopped. It resumed again in 2006.

But by then, the project estimate went up to Rs 148 crore, and each resident was asked to pay Rs 10,000 to link their houses with the sewer line. The estimate was revised again to Rs 160.92 crore in 2009, and so did the money that the residents were told to pay – Rs 12,500.

Now, 25 years have gone by but the work is still to reach even the halfway mark. Official sources said they could not take up work in West Tambaram after failing to get permission from the State Highways Department to lay pipelines along GST Road and Mudichur Road. “While the estimate has gone up twice, there is still no progress in the work.

And while we wait for the project to be completed, our streets are filled with sewage, spreading an unbearable stench and posing risk to the people,” C George, an activist from Tambaram, told DT Next. “As property value in Tambaram tripled in the last 15 years, rentals and tax have also gone up manifold. But the corporation is lacking in infrastructure,” added ‘Star’ Prabha, a councillor belonging to the AIADMK. When contacted, Tambaram Corporation Commissioner R Alagu Meena said she would convene a review meeting with the concerned officials to discuss the progress of the drainage project. “I will review the work for the next few months and make sure the work is done properly,” the Commissioner said, assuring that the project would be complet