The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : `Infrastructure to get borewell water will escalate plan cost'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 07, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

`Infrastructure to get borewell water will escalate plan cost'

By Our Special Correspondent

CUDDALORE, APRIL 6. The contingency plan to draw groundwater from 45 deep borewells, being sunk in the Gadilam— Paravanaru riverbeds, for Chennai will require infrastructure, including installation of transformers and other electrical appliances.

If these facilities were to be provided, the plan cost will far exceed Rs. 49 crores given out by Chennai Metrowater, which has been assigned the task of taking water from the Kadampuliyur overhead tank in Cuddalore district, for over 200 km through the newly-laid pipeline by May.

Sources in the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board told The Hindu that it had been proposed to fix each borewell with a motor of 85 horse-power capacity. For running the motor, a transformer of 100-kva capacity would have to be installed near the borewell.

The sources said the motors would run non-stop from the day the system became operational, to ensure uninterrupted supply of 90 million litres of water a day (the quantum of water to be prospected from all 45 deep borewells put together) to Chennai.

Therefore, to ensure continuous running of the motors, an "expressway" or separate electrical line would be put up.

It was calculated that 18 units of power would be required for running one-hp motor for 24 hours and thus the likely total power consumption by these "mega motors" could be easily calculated.

A huge investment would be required to indent for all these equipment and authorities here estimate that the expenditure on the contingency plan might cross Rs. 100 crores. This over and above an allocation of Rs. 720 crores made for the New Veeranam Project or the Chennai Water Augmentation Project— I.

The sources said though the Government alerted the TNEB to be ready for the contingency plan, it did not yet make available the equipment.

But the sources were confident that once the materials were ready, with the existing manpower, these could be erected to meet the deadline.

There is concern in the region over what is perceived as "indiscriminate" prospecting of the acquifer that is serving as a lifeline for this region, formed hundreds and thousands of years ago.

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