Rs 25 cr works planned for Chitlapakkam lake restoration

Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday announced Rs 50 crore for marking the boundaries of forest areas in the state using Differential Global Positioning System..

The announcement was made as part of series of announcements under Section 110 of Tamil Nadu Assembly Rules. According to Palaniswami, “The process of marking boundaries of forest areas would be done in three years at the total cost of Rs 50 crore. For the year 2019-20, Rs 31 crore have been allotted.”

He also said that the roads in forest areas would be developed and maintained at the cost of Rs 200 crore for three years and for the current year, 577 km long roads have been identified to be developed at the cost of Rs 57.7 crore. According to the announcements, three auditoriums with facilities including projectors and speakers, would be constructed at Kalakad- Mundanthurai, Anaimalai and Sathyamangalam forests at the cost of Rs 3 crore each.

Chief Minister Palaniswami also announced Rs 25 crore for reclamation of Chitlapakkam lake. According to him, “Chitlapakkam lake caters to the irrigational needs of 219 acres of farmlands but now the lake has been damaged. To reclaim the lake, works such as removal of encroachments, to desilt the lake to enable maximum storage of water, to strengthen the bunds of the lake, to prevent wastage of excess water, to setup wall to prevent wastage of excess water, to setup walls to prevent drainage from getting discharged in the lake and to setup liquid waste treatment centre would be taken up at the total cost of Rs 25 crore.”

Palaniswami further said that an advanced rice mill with the total capacity of 100 metric tonnes would be set up at Peravurani in Thanjavur district, this year. To cater to the needs of storage of food grains, government will also construct 28 warehouses with the total capacity of 36,000 metric tonnes at a total cost of Rs 59.4 crore.

The AC sheet roof in 55 warehouses maintained by Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Department would be replaced and an advanced roof which can withstand more heat and rusting would be setup at the cost of Rs 21.65 crore. The roads present inside the warehouse complexes maintained by Civil Supplies Department would be upgraded into cement roads at the cost of Rs 54.44 crore, he said.