Inaugurating two parks constructed by the city corporation at a cost of Rs 2.21 crore along the bank of Cooum river opposite Chintadripet, he said the Rs 1,200 crore river restoration project will be completed in six years.

The public encroaching the river bank will be shifted and rehabilitated by the government, he added. The state government has already shifted 1,028 families, which were encroaching the Cooum, to residential colonies in Okkiyam Thoraipakkam.

In the next two years, all the encroachments and settlements along the Cooum will be removed and the scientific restoration will be completed in a phased manner on the lines of Singapore river restoration programme. In Singapore, the project took 10 years for completion.

Technical consultants for the projects will soon be finalised. They will be executed by Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust. The trust will comprise government departments, including slum clearance board, Chennai corporation and public works department.

State information minister Parithi Ilamvazuthi, Chennai mayor M Subramanian, Deputy chief minister secretary Dheenabandhu, municipal administration and water supply department secretary Ashok Varadhan Shetty and corporation commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni accompanied Mr Stalin during the inaugural of the parks.