The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is in the process of drafting a letter to the Water Resources Department (WRD) of Tamil Nadu government informing them that despite the city receiving over 1,025 millimetres of rain this month, the Cooum river has not flooded areas along its banks.
Along with photographs showing Cooum river flowing to the brim, NHAI officials say the recent rain has proved that pillars of the Rs. 1,815-crore Chennai Port - Maduravoyal elevated link road project have not led to flooding unlike what the WRD had predicted.
The project was put on hold by WRD stating that the pillars will lead to flooding and that a change in alignment was needed. Though the Madras High Court ruled that the project can go ahead, the State government approached the Supreme Court and the matter is pending there, sources in the NHAI told The Hindu.
“We will write to the WRD soon. Our Chairman has written to the State government asking that they complete rehabilitation of residents along the Cooum and hand over the land to us,” said NHAI Chief General Manager (Technical) V. Chinna Reddy.
Though the Cooum has been carrying a large volume of floodwater in the past fortnight, it has not overflowed and entered neighbouring areas. Old structures like the boat jetty near Ethiraj Salai have been submerged, residents pointed out.
Officials of Water Resources Department said the Cooum now carries 5,000 cubic feet per second of water (cusecs). Besides surplus from Kosasthalaiyar river, it is also fed by several water bodies upstream in Tiruvallur district. It has the capacity to carry up to 60,000 cusecs.
“We cannot comment on the elevated corridor project as the issue is in court. As the project has been stalled, we cannot proceed with rehabilitation or resettlement of people along the banks without a court order,” said a source in the department.
“If this road is completed, then the port can commence work on the proposed dry port near Sriperumbudur that will help increase volume,” said a port user.
Pending projects
The NHAI has written to the State government to speed up pending projects, particularly the four-lane elevated corridor.
In his recent letter, the Chairman of NHAI, Raghav Chandra, pointed out that the 19-km-long elevated corridor was put on hold since January 2013.
Measures to rehabilitate the affected families and shops along the river banks are still pending. He had asked the government and Port Trust to accelerate the process.
