Water recycling to be made mandatory for new industries, multi-storied buildings
Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government will make the setting up of water recycling facilities mandatory for new industries and multi-storied buildings. “The building plan approval will be granted only if they have water recycling centres. This will result in saving of water by 50 percent,” Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said on Thursday.
Responding to a question on the steps to be taken by his government to recharge the groundwater level, Mr Palaniswami told reporters after laying the foundation stone for 15 crore litres desalination plant at Nemmeli that the first plan is to promote rainwater harvesting structures in a big way.
Of the plan estimate of Rs 1,259.38 crore, Rs 700 crore will be obtained as loan from German firm KFW while the remaining sum would be subsidy under the Centre's Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme, an official release said.
Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, Municipal Administration Minister S. P. Velumani and others participated in the foundation stone laying ceremony.
According to Mr. Palaniswami the government is in the process of expediting works on establishing another desalination plant of 400 MLD capacity
at Perur in Kancheepuram district. Speaking to reporters, later,
Mr. Palaniswami said the plant at Perur will be established at an estimated cost of `6,078.40 crore. While the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) would extend financial assistance upto Rs 4,267 crore of the total project cost, the remaining funds would be met by the State government.
Asked if the government would take steps to set up desalination plants in other coastal areas, the CM replied that the
government was studying the feasibility of establishing desalination plants in several coastal districts.
At present, Chennai needs about 830 MLD water. The city's lakes: Cholavaram (full capacity 1,081 mcft), Red Hills (full capacity 3,300 mcft) and Chembarambakkam (3,645 mcft) which supply water to the residents, have run dry. There is only 18 mcft water left in Poondi reservoir (against a full capacity of 3,231 mcft).
