Tamil Nadu CM lays foundation stone for second desalination plant in Nemmeli

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Thursday laid the foundation stone for Rs 1,259-crore seawater desalination plant in Kancheepuram district of the state.

This will be third unit of the nature that would address the city's drinking water supply needs.

"Besides the Nemmeli Plant, we will get 400 MLD (Millions of Liters per Day) water once the desalination plant at Perur is starts functioning. The people in Chennai will get water without any inconvenience after these plants are in place and by 2021, the people can make use of these projects," Palanisamy said.

He added, "It was during former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's regime that she had announced the expansion of desalination plants in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Now, Amma's (Jayalalithaa) government has implemented it."

While asserting that water will be brought from Jolarpet in Vellore district to Chennai in two days, he said, "Awareness programmes to save water will be launched in schools by the Tamil Nadu government and we have also planned to recycle the used water from heavy industries and government sectors."

"The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) asked Karnataka to release nearly 40.43 thousand million cubic (TMC) feet water to Tamil Nadu. For irrigation purpose in the delta, the government has requested to release water as per the monthly norms," Palanisamy added.

Further, he said, "We have also moved Supreme Court to stop Karnataka from building an additional dam on the Cauvery River in Megadadu. The central government has clearly said that no clearance has been given for the project as of now."

Tamil Nadu has been reeling under acute water crisis stress for the past several months as Chennai' s Porur Lake, one of the main sources of water has reached its lowest level.

Moreover, scorching heat and delayed monsoon have further exacerbated the situation.