The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Ambattur drainage project a non-starter

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 11, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Ambattur drainage project a non-starter

By K. Lakshmi

CHENNAI, FEB. 10. Residents of Ambattur, who were relieved when the long-pending Rs.40-crore underground drainage project kicked off two months ago, are now upset over the delay in work mired in controversy.

Though the project for 19 wards was approved four years ago it has remained a non-starter for long. The announcement to commence the much-delayed project was made at a council meeting in October last.

However, many councillors cutting across party lines questioned the tender approval in favour of the Hyderabad-based Nagarjuna Construction company. They pointed out that the company had presented an estimate 19.62 per cent above the estimate made by the municipality.

But, the charges were dismissed then by the local body stating that the tender was duly processed by the tender committee, which included officials from the Municipal Administration and Water Supply department.

A councillor alleged that the municipality authorities were questioned by officials from the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-corruption about the project and the tender approval. Another councillor alleged that the local body did not comply with the norms that tenders, which are five per cent above the estimate, be referred to the State Government.

However, the municipal authorities denied the charges of a Vigilance investigation. The municipal chairman said that the work was in progress in wards 17, 3 and 12. A municipality official said the sewage water from these wards was collected and transmitted to the Kodungaiyur sewage treatment plant.

No raid

When contacted, a Vigilance department official said that such a raid was not conducted at the municipality. However, the department had received complaints about other irregularities in the municipality.

A resident of Vijayalakshmipuram said that the municipality had collected Rs. 8,000 from each house for laying an underground sewer. The residents now fear that further contamination of groundwater would lead to health problems. "In the absence of proper drainage facilities, sewage from many houses was being released into nearby lakes," she added.

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