Corporation Carry Out Rejuvenation Work

A view of Valankulam tank . The State Government has permitted the Coimbatore Corporation to carry out a one-time rejuvenation of eight tanks in the city. The sanction by the Government ends a tug-of-war between the Corporation and the Public Works Department (PWD) on control over the tanks. All tanks and canals come under the control of the PWD. But, the Corporation had asked for the custody of the tanks as it had drawn up a Rs.127-crore project for the rejuvenation of water bodies under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

The water bodies are: Valankulam, Big Tank, Singanallur Tank, Selvampathy Tank, Selvachinthamani Tank, Muthanankulam, Krishnampathy Tank and Narsampathy Tank. Under this project, it plans to deepen and remove silt from the tanks, strengthen the bunds and create parks around these. These tanks had already been de-silted by Siruthuli, a public initiative for the conservation of water resources.

The civic body had even engaged a private agency – Action for Food Production – to conduct a study of the tanks and submit a detailed project report. When the Corporation had asked for the control over the tanks after getting the project report and sending it to the mission directorate for approval, the PWD had refused to hand over these by contending that the civic body did not have the required expertise to manage the water bodies.

The stand-off and the view of both sides had been taken to the Government for a decision. In the order issued by it, the Government says the decision to allow this programme has been taken on the basis of decisions arrived at a meeting of the officials of the PWD and the Corporation with Chief Secretary L.K. Tripathy here in February.

Now, the Corporation will carry out the one-time improvements under the supervision of the water bodies’ experts in the PWD. The Corporation can also have on deputation, engineers of the PWD till the works are completed. Mayor R. Venkatachalam has thanked the State Government for permission to carry out one-time improvements. He says this will enable the Corporation to beautify tanks that are now an eyesore in the city.

Official sources in the civic body point out that the Corporation has to solve a couple of vexatious problems if the project has to be successful. One of these is the thick growth of water hyacinth on the tanks. This is attributed to sewage being discharged into the water bodies. The Corporation’s Rs.420-crore underground drainage scheme is expected to check substantially the unauthorised discharge of sewage into water bodies. Wherever the discharge is inevitable, treatment plants may be installed to ensure that untreated waste water is not let into the water bodies.

The other problem is of encroachments impeding the Corporation’s efforts to improve the condition of the tanks. Official sources say that this also can be solved through the housing scheme for the urban poor that the Corporation is implementing under the mission. It involves the removal of the slums on the tanks and the re-location of the people in tenements built under the mission.

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