4 projects worthing Rs 258 crore approved in Chennai

CHENNAI: On Wednesday the Chennai Smart City Ltd board held a meeting for four projects which were approved. A five-tonne biogas plant that would use water hyacinth to produce fuel, and electricity subsequently.

Projects which were worth Rs 258 crore have been cleared in the meeting. More than 613 acres of water hyacinth spread across water bodies in the city will feed the biogas plant, to be set up at Rs 3 crore, said sources. “It will not only help generate biogas and electricity, but also help manage our water bodies,” said an official from CSCL.

Water hyacinth which will be removed from the water bodies will be crushed and supplied to the plant, which will produce 5 tonnes of biogas every day, said officials. While the larger plan is to use the gas for power production, a source said biogas can also be used for Amma canteens, as fuel.

Among the other important projects cleared were the 24x7 piped water supply in T Nagar area under area-based development and the construction of missing links to stormwater drains in the shopping hub. “One of the major projects sanctioned is the provision of 24x7 piped water supply to all areas in T Nagar, which will be undertaken in coordination with Metrowater. New pipelines will be laid wherever needed, and encrustations deposits in the pipeline formed over time from corroding walls that block free flow of water will be removed,” said an official present in the meeting. 

This will help in improving the amount of water that is being carried. Sources said at present, 35 million litres of water is supplied in over two days in T Nagar, but the network will be able to match future demand of up to 48 MLD. “This way, we can also attend to faults in the network more effectively,” said the official.

The much-touted skywalk connecting T Nagar bus terminus and Mambalam that was deferred during the previous meeting was also given the green signal on Wednesday.  The project was conceived in 2015, but it failed to take off due to land ownership issues between the civic body and the Southern Railway. Sources said a proposal worth Rs 55 crore for group monitoring and dimming of street lights on bus route roads was not approved by the meeting.