The Hindu : Jayalalithaa seeks Rs. 700 cr. from Calamity fund

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 18, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Jayalalithaa seeks Rs. 700 cr. from Calamity fund

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, JAN. 17. The Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, has sought a Rs. 700-crore sanction from the National Calamity Contingency Fund for ``organising and putting into operation'' a clutch of emergency projects to provide drinking water to Chennai.

In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, she highlighted the plight of water-starved Chennai and pointed out that the combined storage of its three reservoirs was only 268 mcft (million cubic feet) as on January 1 - just 3.6 per cent of the total combined capacity of 7,412 mcft.

``This is the worst storage ever recorded in the history of Chennai. We have completely suspended piped supply, which is again unknown and unprecedented in the history of Chennai city. You will agree, therefore, that Chennai is facing a calamity of unprecedented proportions,'' Ms. Jayalalithaa said in Friday's demi-official letter, released to the press today.

The realisation during the southwest monsoon was poor and in the current northeast monsoon, which is the main source of water for Chennai city, it was ``40 per cent less than normal.'' Chennai ``is currently being fed tragically with just 105 million litres daily (MLD) from groundwater sources located in well fields in the north of Chennai. We are also supplementing this supply by other local groundwater sources to the extent of about 20 MLD, totalling in all 125 MLD. Chennai's total demand is 870 MLD. The entire 125 MLD is now being distributed through lorries, as piped water supply has virtually become impossible. This limited supply has resulted in an abnormally low supply of 25 litres per capita per day (LPCD), as against the WHO (World Health Organisation) norm of 145 LPCD. We are unable to ensure even 50 per cent of the norm. You will agree that this is really a serious situation."

Three schemes

Ms. Jayalalithaa listed three schemes to augment the city's supply. The Government proposed to tap some contiguous well fields in the Poondi and Thamaraipakkam area, north of the reservoirs. This would cost Rs. 145 crores to connect them to the pipeline and bring it to the city. It would require another Rs. 300 crores to take up complete supply by lorries for the next 10 months, till the arrival of the northeast monsoon. As another emergency operation, ``We propose to tap well fields to the south of Chennai, about 220 km away, and bring this water to Chennai through a pipeline which is just being completed. Organising and putting into operation the supply from these well fields as an emergency supply will cost Rs. 249 crores.''

As ``this is a calamity of a very severe nature, one that has not occurred before in the recorded history of Chennai, it should be treated as one of rare severity and funded totally from the National Calamity Contingency Fund.''

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